Stolen Memories
by ForbiddenSnowflakes
Summary: Wesker stumbles upon a car accident, and finds a certain girl dying in front of him. Should he save her? And if he does, at what cost? WeskerxClaire. R&R!
1. Prologue

:: Prologue :: Edited by** Naoko Suki**

November 14th, 2011, Some Hell-hole road on the outskirts of New York City;

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><p>Rain fell that entire day, so much that not even under the rocks were dry. Wind had knocked over the weaker trees all over the area. The people with families were surely warm at home, most likely reciting the latest family story or huddling around the fire. Of course people who didn't get the luxury of a family were either working or out alone. Albert Wesker was a prime example of someone 'alone' or 'at work'.<p>

Driving down this Hellish road was Wesker himself, with a Mr. Robert Brown in the passenger seat. Robert had been a hard and dry man to every human he's met; which enticed Wesker to join Mr. Browns company and work for him. Although after Robert got married, he turned into quite the softy. Wesker thought he was such a pathetic man now. _That's why you don't start families._

The long road was quite lonely, with some debris on the sides the only other cars seen were passed hours ago. Robert had spoken up.

"Albert, what is that? Up there?" worry was in his voice. He has pointed forward and Wesker followed the direction up to the side.

They continued to approach the site and Wesker replied.

"It looks like a car accident."

"Obviously it is! Where's the ambulance?"

"I am sure you can see what I can, and there isn't one." Wesker tried to keep his patience.

Mr. Brown looked annoyed. "I can see that!" He huffed and shifted more in his seat. "Albert, stop the car."

"No, Mr. Brown, we must-"

"Wesker, it's an _order._" Robert definitely just cut him off.

Weskers' eyes narrowed. _Order?_ He himself is the only one with the right to order others in this pathetic world._ Pitiful man. Be grateful that you still have some use to me._

He pulled the car over just past the accident and stepped out of the car with Robert. Wesker smelled blood, which was not unusual. But it smelt strange, almost a familiarity to it. His employer was already standing next to one of the cars from the accident.

Peeking inside, he found the driver. A male teen who didn't look a day over 17. Wesker sighed.

"He's dead, Robert."

"Well then let's check the second car."

Weskers' patience was beginning to thin from having to stand out in the rain when they should have stayed on track. Although when he got closer to the car, the peculiar smell of blood was stronger. _The strange one._ Brown followed up behind, looking through the drivers' door with him.

The window was shattered along with most of the windshield, the remaining pieces still tact to the door were covered with blood. Her red hair was stained even darker with the blood mixed in; head resting on the wheel. Fortunately they saw she was breathing short and quick breaths.

"Oh my God. Albert! Get that poor thing out! But be careful, she's definitely broken something."

Wesker said nothing and complied, pulling her from the wreckage. Her purse was tied and dangled from her arm as she was being taken, and laid beside her as she was set down on the asphalt. He gets a good look at her face which is covered in blood, but not for long. The rain was washing away as much as it could. He could tell her forehead had an impact on it, no airbag would do that. Because of her clothing stringing to her now wet body, he could tell a few ribs were broken, along with her left arm. The silence was broken when the girl coughed and just barely opened her eyes.

"What the…" she whispered.

"Shh, try not to speak. You need to relax, we won't hurt you." Brown stated softly.

The girl mustered a horrible chuckle.

"Yeah, as if anything could top this pain." She stayed smiling. "It's not the first time. I'm not afraid of death…but I don't want to die. Not now."

Browns face contorted as he thought. Although Wesker already knew his plan before he received the look and a nod.

"We won't let you die. We will help you sweetie." Robert replied.

Wesker complied with his employers' wishes and picked the girl back up bridal style, only to be rewarded with a yell of pain from her mouth into his ear. Walking towards the backdoor Brown opened, he laid her inside closing the door promptly afterwards.

The two men sat back into their seats. Wesker drove as Mr. Brown stared quite _eerily _at the woman in the back. Not even minutes back on the road, they heard an almost unintelligible sentence escape the girls' lips.

"Joe Fredericks is the biggest ass-hole in the world."

Mr. Brown kept staring until she fell unconscious after the phrase. He turned back forward and laughed.

"Interesting last words. The guy must be quite horrible."

"Indeed, Mr. Brown."

Even though he was against it at first, Wesker knew something good was going to come from this. For some reason the storm had died down, and he was able to drive much faster back to New York. He could only smile. The Redfield sister was in his hands. If she makes it, he knew the plans using her would be endless.


	2. Doing right things

Chapter One: Doing right thing

Naoko Suki, I want to thank you for the review and for editing this chapter. So I dedicate this chapter to You and I hope you gonna like it and the other reviewers too ;*

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><p>She had been in an operation room, with doctors spending more than four hours working on her. Their result concluded that she wouldn't live past the next 24 hours. The broken bones in her body were set properly and her skull was repaired as much as they possibly could. The problem though is that the damage that occurred to her frontal lobe caused her severe brain damage.<p>

She was dying.

Wesker had an eye over the entire operation process from the theatre-style seats from above, and he knew that there was one thing that could save her. The virus Dr. Birkin made and now runs through his own body. He could use it on her but the question is, does he _want_ to use it.

Pondering this decision, his mind ran through many thoughts. "_She is quite the beautiful woman, as well as being my enemy's dear and only sister. Both so unbelievably true."_

He knew of her feats of being a talented surgeon, one of the best in New York City. She had also received many awards, especially for her voluntary services in Africa. He was contemplating on training her. She would definitely be a useful agent. "_Of course, that's if she survives."_

Wesker wasted no time grabbing his metal suitcase from his desk as he made haste into the operating room. As he entered, he ordered everyone to leave the area and to not interrupt. Everyone understood and left as they were told. He was the only doctor at the scene now. He knew instantly that the Redfield woman's pulse was low from hearing the constant alerts from the ECG beside her bed.

Taking and holding in his hand a syringe from his suitcase, he waited until her pulse had faded, and had been dead for exactly 5 minutes. That's when he plunged the syringe into her heart. The entire vile was emptied as he stood back and waited. The beeping on the machine returned just before an hour passed. Taking a hand and checking her forehead, estimating that it will take her brain cells to still take a long time to heal even if she was infected.

"_Three weeks at least I believe."_ Wesker thought to himself.

The damage was still serious, and the possibility of amnesia was high. But the only thing he can rely on for questions is when the lovely Claire woke up.

Deciding that her body should be in a well enough state to be transported, he lifted her up in his arms, taking the suitcase with a few fingers of his left hand and walked out into the corridors. No one dared to look at or question him as he made his way past them. He didn't stop until they reached his private room.

His quarters were all in grey and white tones. A decent sized room with no windows in sight since the lab was underground. He walked past the bathroom and towards his king sized bed where he laid Claire down upon. After pulling the large duvet over her, he sat down at his desk to the left of the bed. Staring at her only for a moment, he knew he had to begin typing on any progress that has been made on her and began to work.

His work was halted a few minutes in as he contemplated how this was to come. _Why?_ Why was it that right after the accident happened, he was the first one to drive by that road? Could he really just be that lucky? "_Luck. What a foolish theory."_

He had to laugh. Everything that he has now is not because of 'luck', but because of his cunning plans and successes. Wesker was intelligent, well built, and all his life was able to easily manipulate others. He only used other human beings, to climb up to the position he has now. But if no more humans existed, who could he manipulate? _ "Stop thinking such bullshit."_ It need not matter. Right now, Ms. Redfield will become just like him. What word would her brother Christopher use? Ah yes, a tyrant. A_ monster _as he puts it. Would she become his enemy as well? What sweet revenge. Taking the only precious thing in his pathetic existence and crushing all that's left of his spirit. Let him live knowing that his _tyrant_ of a sister is living with his greatest enemy.

Satisfied with his analysis with the situation, he took a peek at the time. It was already 6AM, the cars were definitely found on the road. In just a few short hours Chris will know that his sisters' body is missing from the wreckage. What torture for Chris. "_Maybe there is a bit of luck today."_

He stood up and checked Claire's pulse. Steady like before. After taking a blood sample from her, he lifted up and looked under her closed eyelids. The results were very satisfying. Her blue orbs were fighting against the red taking over. In her other eye, the red had almost completely conquered the remaining blue. He worked into the next morning, once again checking her body, and her eyes. _"Red." _He thought to himself. It was only a matter of time until she wakes. Wesker returned to his desk and continued writing.

XXXXXXXX

:: 4 Hours Later ::

Everything around her was black. It felt as if the world wouldn't stop spinning. She couldn't even move a muscle. After hearing some noise, she had tried to open her eyes. _Nothing._ She continuously tried to even move a finger. After multiple attempts she succeeded; it was if everything was beginning to click back on. Her palm lifted and lowered on the bed, and she was finally able to pry open her eyes. Slowly opening them and blinking profusely, she was able to see. The ceiling was white. Wanting to see more, she pushed herself up carefully to a sitting position. The rest of the room was just grey and white.

It took her a few moments of staring until she looked to the side and her eyes met a man on a chair. Blonde, sunglasses, and wore all black. Even though he wore sunglasses, she knew he was watching her intently. Then it hit her as her eyes seemed to fall. What was that feeling? As if she weighed a ton, but felt so empty. Where was she? Who was she?

"Who…?" was all she was able to whisper.

" 'Who' what, dear heart?"

"Who am I?"

The man in black could only smirk. "You are my patient, dear heart."

"I wasn't asking about that." She spat out. Her red eyes flushed with anger. "Why don't I know who I am, or what is going on? What is my name?"

The man looked amused to her.

"You must not have remembered anything because of the car accident. Your name is Claire Redfield." He sat beside her on the bed and touched her forehead.

"So, you're my doctor, right?"

"In a way yes, but I would prefer for you to think of me as a friend. Is that alright with you?" he stated as he kept examining her.

She nodded. "What's your name?"

"My name is Albert Wesker." He then looked into her eyes intent for an outcome. "Does it sound familiar?"

He was thankful when she frowned and said 'No'.

She had glanced down at her hands and her face changed. Pointing at a pale mark at her finger, "Was there a ring here before?"

Wesker had glanced as well. "No, there wasn't."

Claire sighed as she kept trying to organize her thoughts. "Um..you were talking about an accident. Was it..serious?"

"Well, you _would_ have died if I had not come across you."

"How were you able to help me?"

Wesker then stood up and strode across the room. He had come back with a mirror handing it to her. She looked into it, and the reflection showed the bright red eyes. Her head became winded.

"My orbs are red because you helped me? Shouldn't they be blue?" Claire looked back at Wesker. "Am I right?"

He nodded. "Yes. I helped you by giving you a virus. It is a virus to help you heal. Your body was in pretty bad shape, and you were close to dying because of the brain damage. It is quite the miracle you were able to survive. What I gave you, is something you could even call, _power._"

Claire's face scrutinized his answer, "Power? What kind of-"

"You're faster, stronger, and you heal at a very rapid pace. If my calculations are correct, _which they are,_ soon your sense of smell will be heightened along with your sense of hearing. You'll have great reflexes, especially after you train and utilize your new assets. In short, dear heart, you are a great advancement than any other human being."

Her eye's kept away from him, her face showing that she was upset.

"Dear heart," he calmly spoke. "If it helps you, you are not the only one like this. There is one more person out there, the same as you."

"Really?" Her eyes shot back to his.

"Yes," He took his sunglasses off. "We are the same now. But you must remember something very important Claire. No one can know about this, that you are 'infected' with this virus. There are people out there who would lock us up, and experiment on us. I am sure you would not want that, do you Claire?"

She quickly shook her head to answer. Wesker began to stand up, but halted when Claire began to speak.

"Albert, what do you know about me?"

He stayed looking at her, very much surprised at what he heard.

"What did you just call me?"

"Albert?" she looked at him confused. "It is your name, right?"

He nodded clearing his mind of any clouds.

"I do not know much, only things from your file. But even then, I would not be able to tell you."

He sighed, "Because you have to remember on your own."

There was a moment of silence until Claire smiled and said, "Now that I think about it, it's not a bad idea. But wait, could you tell me at least a few things? No wait, make it just two things."

He nodded in response. It wasn't as if she would ask something so terrible.

"Well, do I have a family?"

He smirked. Typical Redfield, thick skulls but really know how to pick the questions. He was worried that if he told her there is someone, it could raise difficulties in the future.

"No. Your parents passed, your brother as well. Your extended family have had no contact with you ever either if you have any left." He observed her reactions. Her face frowned, but she nodded in acceptance.

"Do we have to sleep or eat?"

He smiled at the second question." You eat and sleep when you're hungry or tired, as usual."

"I see." She said looking away into the distance.

"Let's check something, shall we?" He offered her his hand, and she accepted it. With his help, she was finally standing. "Put your shoes on, we're going for a short trip."

"A trip?" She asked while sliding her feet into her gray ballerina shoes. While starting to slowly walk, she passes a mirror. She noticed she was dressed in a black tank top, and red sweat pants.

"I need to do perform some tests to check if you're doing well."

"Okay." She smiled at him. She followed Wesker to the door, but after he started to open it, Claire reached out and quickly pulled it closed.

"Um, Albert?"

"Yes, dear heart?" He looked at her questionably.

"I need sunglasses. You told me that people can't know about _us._ I have red eyes, and I'm pretty sure they're not stupid enough not to notice."

"You are not stupid either, dear heart." He pulled a pair of glasses from his jacket and handed them to her.

"Thank you." She slipped them on and they continued out of the room.

They walked the corridors passing a few people along the way, and Claire asked as they moved, "How did my parents die?"

"They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He looked to Claire, and her face was still puzzled. "They were in a bank and a robbery took place. Some pathetic human shot them both."

"What about my brother?" She continued, her voice shaky. "What was his name?

"His name was Chris. He was a police officer, and was killed by a stray bullet."

Claire suddenly stopped, and Wesker turned to look at her.

"Albert?" He noticed that she was crying.

"Yes, dear heart?"

"I need.." There was a pause. Wesker only waited. "I need a hug."

He was definitely surprised. She was staring at him, tears falling from under her sunglasses. Faster than a blink she was at his chest, hugging him tightly. He paused then lightly returned the gesture.

"_Probably just needs to let it out. Finding out her family is dead, and not remembering a thing. Understandable, but it is almost a bother. Stick to the plan." _He told himself.

After a few more moments, she stepped back and looked towards the way they were walking just before.

Claire cleared her throat, "Thank you, and sorry about that. It's a lot to take in for one day. We can keep going."

Wesker didn't reply, and just began walking again beside Claire. She had spoken up once more further down the hall.

"Was I in College?"

"Yes."

"And…" She eagerly continued, "What was I studying?"

Wesker looked at her and raised his brow. She knew she couldn't ask any more.

"Aw, I get it." She said in a low voice, "I just wanted a hint."

He didn't get any more questions from her when they spoke. They arrived in a small room where Wesker took a few blood samples and ran them through machines. It was only a short time before they made their way back to Wesker's room. She went to the bathroom to take a bath, and he was back at his desk thinking over the days' events. He had been _kind. _He knew he could be 'nice' if he wanted to. He did need Claire's trust. He even _hugged_ her. What a strange feeling. He smiled when he remembered what Claire said earlier,

"_I can hear even those people's heartbeats! My brain's gonna' explode any minute!"_

Wesker liked it when his plans worked out, except for Mr. Brown. The damned man wanted to see Claire, and what he had done to her. He did a lot of good things today. The most important one being not telling Claire that she _died._

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><p>That's it for today. I'm going sleep, It's almost 1AM in my country so… goodnight or good morning or even good evening ;*<p> 


	3. Worries, Death, Decisions

Chapter Two: Worries, Death, Decisions

**Edited by Naoko Suki**

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><p>It was late in the morning when Chris Redfield and his partner Jill Valentine had finally awoken. It had been another exhausting night, and they hadn't gotten in until the AM. They sat on the couch and watched TV, eating some sandwiches Chris had made. They heard the dull ring of the phone, and Chris lazily picked up his cell to answer it.<p>

"Is this Christopher Redfield?" the male voice on the other end asked.

"Yes it is. Who is this?"

"My name is Simon Cortez, from the N.Y.P.D.-"

Chris instantly sat up and felt his body tense. There should be no reason for them to call him. He continued to listen.

"- There was a car accident out on a back road just outside New York. The plates on one of the cars came up registered to a Claire Redfield. Your last name was the only other Redfield in our system for the area. It says here she is your sister, correct?"

"Yes!" Chris shouted, all the while jumping up from his seat. "Oh my God, is she alright? Where is she?"

Jill could only sit and stare at him, worried with her mouth agape. She could hear the man's voice vibrate through the phone again.

"Sire, we need you to come down to the station and talk in person. This isn't a conversation we should be having on the phone. Please come down as soon as possible."

"I understand. I'm on my way." Chris replied.

He let out a large breath he had been holding, and dropped the phone in his daze.

"It was the police. Claire's been in an accident and they found her car crushed. We've gotta go in and talk to them to get more information."

"Well you're not going alone. I care about her as much as you do!" Jill replied then ran to get changed.

Chris' eyes hadn't left the sight of the phone until Jill pulled him out the front door.

:: Police Station No. 15, NYC ::

"Tell me, where the hell is my sister?"

"Please, sit down Mr. Redfield." One of the officers asked, but Chris couldn't sit still; pacing in front of the officers' desk.

"No, I'm fine standing. Just tell me what the hell is going on!"

The officers looked at each other until the man he spoke to before, Mr. Cortez, spoke up and walked in front. The other two officers took leave.

"Mr. Redfield, this case is a mystery. There were two cars in the wreckage, but only the driver from the other car was found. Your sisters car, blood is stained all over the inside glass and some had pooled at the bottom of the seat. Blood tests compared to your DNA strand confirmed it's hers, but there was no one in it.

Chris' eyes widened. He didn't understand.

"What?"

"The car was empty. There was no body to be found inside."

Chris snapped at him, "What are you suggesting?"

"From the amount of blood found, there is no possible way she was able to walk away from the accident. We don't know if she's alive or not, but, someone could have pulled her from the car and taken her body. Either for help because she was alive, or her corpse to get–"

Chris cut him off; "Don't say stupid shit like that. You don't know if she's dead!"

"We're investigating as much as possible. From the evidence that we collected, there is no scientific possibility that she could have survived this."

"That's it?" Chris' temper flared. "You bring me here with the only information that she's missing and dead? She's my only family left! What am I.." He paused, only being able to muster in a whisper."What am I going to do without her?"

Officer Cortez kept calm and stern in his reply.

"I am sorry for saying she has probably died. We will do everything we can to find her. We know hers, and _your_ status. She is an amazing surgeon in our city. Her hospital Director and all of her co-workers are worried as well. They all want the same thing as you, to find her."

Chris couldn't take hearing it anymore, his hand laid upon his own forehead.

"Whatever. Just call me if you've made any progress"

"Of course sir, you will be promptly informed."

Just outside, Jill was sitting on a bench as per Chris' request. She saw Chris leave the building and walk over and sit beside her. Hearing everything that had happened, she couldn't help tear up. But she had to be strong for him. She wiped her eyes.

"Claire is strong. They will find her. Everything will be alright.."

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><p>"Albert?" Claire asked. She was standing at the bathroom door dressed in only a towel.<p>

He turned to face her, not realizing she was in this state. "Yes, dear heart?"

"I hadn't noticed it before…" She touched a necklace around her neck. "When I touched it earlier I saw..." Claire looked as if she was thinking.

"What did you see?" Albert was partially intrigued.

"A woman. A woman gave this to me. When I looked at myself in the mirror an image of her appeared before me. She resembled me so much I… think it was my mother." She kept fiddling with the heart shape charm dangling at the end of the chain.

"That's good you're beginning to remember things."

"Yeah, I suppose." She stared at him before realizing her other question. "I was wondering, do I have any other clothes?"

Wesker pointed at some bags beside the bed.

Claire mumbled a 'thanks' as she took them and went back in the bathroom to change. She came back out wearing a green tank top and black sweatpants. She nabbed the remote for the TV before skipping back onto the bed, flipping onto her stomach. _I wonder if anything interesting is on._

Flipping through the channels for what seemed like eternity, she finally stopped browsing and settled on one with people wearing lab coats.

"House MD? Sounds interesting enough."

"Wesker overheard her mumbling to herself and raised a brow. She may have not remembered, but her instincts are still there.

In the middle of the episode, one of the characters suggested some disease, but Claire replied as if speaking to the show; "Idiot, she doesn't have an infection."

What caught Claire was that right after another doctor on the show stated the same line she did, minus the 'idiot' of course. Even if it was a show about doctors and patients, she knew the diagnosis and the answers. Her eyes shot open.

"Am I a surgeon Albert?" She could hardly sit still under this realization.

"Yes." Was all Wesker could say to answer. A long silence followed until Claire spoke once more from her haze.

"Can I have a notebook?"

"A notebook? What for?"

"To write in it?" she asked sarcastically.

He turned back to his desk and pulled out a blank notebook and pen, handing it to her. She instantly began to write. She continued until some Comedy show came on, and she fell asleep.

Wesker could hear she was in a deep enough sleep from her breaths, his eyes now laid upon the notebook. He reached for it and began to read;

_  
><em>16th Nov, 5:40pm<em>

_When I touched the necklace, I saw her. She looked exactly like me. I don't understand why she had to die. My parents; My mother. Did she do something wrong in her life to deserve to die? I swear when I'm better, I'll find the fucker who did it._

_Also, watching that House MD show, a piece of my memory came back. I'm a surgeon. It makes sense to me now as to why I'm a surgeon.-  
><em>_

Wesker remembered the reason why she did. It was at the RCPD office with S.T.A.R.S.

::_Flashback_::

_February 7th, 1999_

_Wesker was at his desk, piled with paperwork. It was raining out, they weren't able to train, and it had been a dull day. His officers were talking quite loud, as usual._

_"Hey Barry?" Billy shouted across the office._

_"Yeah?" He had to yell back._

_"What's the difference between a mother-in-law and a terrorist?" Billy's face couldn't hold in his grin._

_Barry didn't reply, but Jill stepped in an asked instead._

_"What is it?"_

_"With at terrorist, you can at least negotiate!" Laughter erupted from everyone in the room, minus Wesker and Barry. A loud rapid knock broke them from their laughing spell._

_"Come in!" Rebecca yelled to the door._

_Into the office stepped a girl. Her red hair was soaking wet, covering her face with strands. Her black leather jacket, pink top and skinny jeans clung to her skin and her combat boots began to form a pool of water at her feet. The silence felt like forever until she finally looked up. There were fresh stitches on her right brow, and gauze taped to her right cheek. Chris jumped from his seat._

_"Claire?" He questioned and ran to her. They hugged each other tightly._

_"Hey sis, what's wrong? Where did you get those cuts?" He spoke as if they were the only two in the room._

_"I..I was.. in a car accident. Merry and I were-" She started to cry, her composure started to fade away. "We were heading to school, and some asshole ran a light and crashed into us. She was driving and… and they tried! But they said it was too late! She-" she paused when Chris put a hand on her back and led her to his desk to sit her down._

_He kneeled in front of her, "Is she alright?"_

_"No she's…she's dead Chris. I left with just scratches, and they said I should have called you but I knew you'd just get worried. I tried to stay and wait for you at home but, I had to come here. It's exactly like when Mom and Dad… I was afraid." She rubbed her eyes, and moved the pieces of hair still clinging to her face. Her eyebrows then narrowed with her eyes._

_"The worst part was that I was useless. I couldn't do anything to help her! I screamed for help, and I pulled her out of the car but her face was crushed. And her ribs came out of her skin. I couldn't save her._

_Jill then stood up and walked to Claire, giving her a heavy embrace. Chris could hear Jill try to calm his sister down, and stood up to walk over to Weskers' desk._

_"Capitan?"_

_Wesker looked up to the call._

_"Would it be alright if Claire stayed with me until the end of my shift? I don't think she should be home alone right now."_

_He nodded, and watched Chris take an emergency blanket from the closet and wrap it around his sister. Claire had sat in a spare chair silently beside Chris as everyone went back to work._

_The gloomy silence was broken when the sister Redfield spoke out._

_"I've decided-"_

_Chris looked up from his paperwork at her, puzzled. "What?"_

_"I've decided. I want to start saving peoples lives."_

_Chris' eyes narrowed. "I will never let you do poli-"_

_"I know. I know another way." She smiled at him. Others heads started to turn towards her speech._

_"What are you talking about, Claire?" Chris kept worrying._

_"I want to become a doctor. A surgeon." Her eyes burned into Chris' with spirit._

_"Claire. You're in school for law and-"_

_"No more. I don't like law at all. I never did. But medicine! It's exciting and useful. I want to help others Chris. I can't just sit and watch people die anymore. I'm changing my courses when I go to the office at college. Is that okay with you?"_

_Chris only smiled. He hadn't seen such determination in her in a very long time. "Yeah, I guess you can. But do you know what it's like? Being a surgeon is hard work. It's a lot of overtime and not much of a personal life. Don't you want to have a family?"_

_"If someone can find me and love me for who I am, and my dreams. Then I will."_

_Chris smiled. "That's my sis."_

_The day finally ended and they left the office to drive home with Jill._

_:: End of Flashback ::_

Wesker smiled a little. He remembered that day very clearly. His head had been down, but he heard everything. He also remembered two weeks after the incident that she was rapidly excelling in medical school. He continued with the notebook. There was a bit more scribbled near the end;

_  
><em>-And then, when I watched some scenes of some mushy romantic show, I felt angry. But I also felt depressed. What the heck does this mean? What happened? Why is it that I have a feint line on my finger?<em>

_Anyways, my top questions list:_

_1. __When did my brother die?__2. __Who the hell is Joe?__3. __Who the hell is Leon, and why does his name keep flooding my head?_

_Adding on:_

_Albert. He's alright I think. He is pretty kind to me, which feels like of weird. I don't know why. It's a strange feeling when he's near. Maybe I know him? When I remember more, maybe all my questions will be answered._

_Ask later: How old am I?  
><em>_

Wesker could only smirk. The instinct's of a Redfield. They just don't know when to stop asking questions, and they go too deep. _'Albert. He's alright'_. Good. She's starting to trust him, it's working well. He glances over to her sleeping form once more before placing the notebook back in its exact spot. He turned back to his desk and continued the only thing that could occupy him this late, his work.


	4. Reasonable

Chapter Three: Reasonable **Edited by: Naoko Suki**

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><p>"Ah Wesker!" He heard his name called over the line.<p>

"Oh dear Albert, how's that girl doing!" Mr. Browns voice kept getting more enthused with every word.

"She is doing well. Currently sleeping right now though."

"Sleeping?" Brown seemed skeptical. "I thought that virus shit would erase the need for anything of the sort."

"Her brain hasn't fully recovered yet." Wesker was telling the truth.

"Oh. Well listen-" Brown continued without much thought. "-remember that Halloween party I told you about? It's early this year. I want to invite you to come with our newfound 'miss' you've been taking such good care of. My wife wants to meet her, such a jealous woman!" He let out a loud bellow of a laugh, and Wesker had to move the phone away from his ear.

"Be there? What are you talking about?"

"You know, bring our 'lovely miss' as your date!"

Wesker glared at the phone, but didn't want to upset his employer. "I can't risk that. Someone may recognize her."

"Well then figure something out! Please Albert. I'll do anything you want!"

_Anything I want? I'll hold you to that._ "Anything?"

"I give you my word Albert, anything and everything. My marriage needs to be saved." Wesker could hear Mr. Brown hold his breath after that sentence. The silence then ended.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."

He heard the man sigh at the other end of the phone and thank him profusely. Wesker got some details about the event, and some mentions of meetings for the near future before he finally just hung up.

Looking over to the sleeping woman again, his face drooled with distaste. His 'date'? How ridiculous. What else is next? Pretend to fall in love? He supported his head with his arm. He still had to do it, but there was something that interested him. _I wonder how Miss Redfield will take this news? Would she behave?_ Sitting back up, he made a few more calls and continued working, waiting for his 'date' to awaken.

Her dream felt like bits and pieces from a movie. Cut scenes from one place, then another from an entirely different time.

_**Run**_

I'm in a hospital standing above a man lying in bed. A woman turned to me;  
>"We did everything we could for now, but his body is very weak. I'm sorry-"<p>

_**Switch**_

She was bent over the bed telling the man that he'll be alright.

_**Switch**_

I'm now speaking with another doctor. Tall with black hair and well built. She spoke with him, but a second later she was making out with him.

Afterwards, she accepted his proposal to date.

_**Switch**_

She was walking down an empty alleyway with an umbrella in her hands. Ducking down when someone yelled 'Get down!'. Shots fired, and she looked up. A familiar man. "Leon? What are you doing here?"

Leon's arm outstretched and she accepted his hand.

_**Switch**_

A man was arguing with her. He has auburn hair;

"Claire! I want to finish this football match!"

"No, Let me watch the X-Files for once!"

"Gimmie back the remote! Claire!" They were pulling the remove back and forth until she just let up and shoved it back to him.

"God Chris! Fine take it! I don't need it anymore; I've seen this episode before. Besides I have to get ready for my date tonight with Eddy."

"What!"

She instantly woke up from the yell of the man in her dreams. Typing was going on until the man creating the noise turned to her.

"Good morning dear heart."

"Oh. Good morning Albert." She rolled onto her back and rested her hands behind her head.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Kind-of. I had dreamt but they felt…weirdly real." She began to think to herself.

_Eddy? Leon._

_Chris…_

Claire realized she was staring into nowhere and hopped up to go take a shower. She had finished within 15 minutes and noticed a large grey purse on the bed when she walked back out.

"Whose bag is this?"

"It would be yours."

_Mine?_ She looked at it curiously before peeking inside, then dumping its contents out on the bed. A wallet fell out, and looking inside it carried her driver's license, credit cards and a few dollars in cash. Also on the bed there was some lip gloss, and a badge attached to a lanyard with a hospital pass on it. Almost as if she didn't want to see it, lastly there was a hand gun. She slowly reached for it, and as if her hands had a mind of their own they unlocked, cocked and pointed the gun forward. Her eyes narrowed.

Xx

_She was sitting in a car with Leon. He was wearing his police uniform. In her hand, a handgun. They were running from something. Leon had just started to drive and a groan came from the back seat. Hands tried to reach for our throats. _

"_Get out of here Claire!"_

_Xx_

She jumped back and dropped the gun on the bed.

"What the hell was that..?"

"What did you see Claire?" Wesker asked peeking above his sunglasses.

"I…I don't know. It looked human, but it made gargling and moaning sounds as if it was from an animal. His eyes were all white, and it kept trying to grab me. It was disgusting!" She fell backwards onto the bed. "This amnesia is getting really annoying."

Changing the subject, Wesker spoke up. "I've received an invitation for us."

Claire just looked at him. "An invitation?"

"For an early Halloween party." Claire looked confused to him. "Claire?"

"I know I don't remember much, but I really don't like the way 'Halloween' sounds. But a party?"

"You don't know what it is? Have you been to a party before?"

"Yes! But there's no way I'm going to wear that dress Chris! Forget it!" Silence remained in the room after her outburst.

"Uhh, why did I say Chris? Have I been asked before?" She felt embarrassed. _My mind is really annoying me._

"I think I've been to a party before. But it was definitely a Christmas party at my hospital. I can kind of remember it."

Claire ignored the look she was receiving from Wesker and just went to watch TV.

His mind reeled at her fast progress at recovering. _Let's put her to the test._

He told her that they were to go and run more tests on her. She naturally obliged and followed him. Walking down the locked hallways, Claire began to smell another human. Normally it was just the two of them, but when Wesker opened the door to the lab, there was another man handcuffed to the bed, sleeping. Instruments lay upon tables around the injured man, and the ECG beeped beside him.

"What the heck is this? Tell me why this man is here!"

"This is a test, Dr. Redfield."

"A test?"

"Yes. You need to save his life. If you don't and he dies, you fail."

"What the hell do you-"

"Put your gloves on."

She stared at Wesker, her eyes glowed an even brighter red. She put on the gloves; "What now?"

Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw Wesker pull a gun and shoot the man in the blink of an eye. The man didn't even wake.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"What's more important, doctor? Why I did it, or this man's life?" The ECG began to beep louder and more frequently, thumping through Claire's head.

She screamed in response. "But I don't remember a thing from college! How the heck am I suppose to save him?"

"Focus, doctor."

"Wha-? You idiot! I-" She stopped herself, and looked to the patient. _Focus… Take a deep breath…_ In the corner of her eye she noticed Wesker was sitting in a chair and observing her.

The gunshot wound was in the middle of the man's chest. She ran her fingers over the hole in hopes to understand. "Come on… come on...I should know this." _He's dying Claire… You need to help him._

Her eyes shot open, and let out a grunt of a chuckle. "Ha!" As if once again her body had a separate mind from her own it began to act.

"Subject: Male; Age: Mid Thirties; Bullet wound has been found in the center right of his chest. The bleeding is minimal, thinking it did not strike any tissue and had stopped at his rib. Pulse: Unstable; Administering 1.5 milligrams of morphine."

Her body went mad fast. After placing an oxygen supply mask on his face, she cleaned the wound with a disinfectant and used the forceps to gracefully remove the bullet. She then used her scalpel to horizontally hut a 3 inch opening to collect the chips of bone. She then took a drill and created two tiny holes in the broken rib and attached them together using a metal plate. She closed him, stitched him up and used antiseptic to clean up the skin. It looked like he hadn't even been hurt in the first place, all in record time.

Claire took a deep breath and wiped her brow with her forearm, smiling. "I did it. I just focused and everything came back to me. I've done this before! He's stable but I need to take some chest x-rays and some blood tests. His blood had a very strange smell."

Wesker saw that her happiness was short lived when she turned to face him. Her eyes only grew fiercer.

"And now that I'm done this little 'test' of yours, tell me…" She crossed the room in a split second, pulling Wesker up by his collar. His glasses fell to the floor. "What the fuck were you thinking, huh? You shot the man, and really relied on me to save him? And what if I didn't remember?" She yelled with all her being.

"He would have died then, dear heart." His calm voice did nothing for her anger, and just made her push him back into a wall still grasping his collar tightly.

"That's all you have to say? 'He would die' ? He's an innocent human being Albert! You had no right to up and fucking shoot him! He could have died on my watch! Answer me! Why'd the hell you do this?" She kept screaming, but wasn't prepared when Wesker grabbed her wrists and flipped her against the wall. Her hands pinned above her head and their noses being mere inches from each other.

"I did it to see if my theory was correct. And it was, like it always is. You seemed to remember something by touch, smell or hearing certain things. You want an example? Remember your gun, your necklace, and the party? Be reasonable Claire. It's the only way you're able to remember." His temper was mild at first, but he remained calm for her sake.

"I know you want to help me. I do thank you for that. But that doesn't change the fact you shot him to teach me!"

"He would have died in two days time. With or without the gunshot. Tell me Claire, why did you want to run a blood test?"

"Well it's a normal thing to do, but his blood smelt so strange. I almost wanted to puke."

Wesker sighed. "He's infected. He's one who has lasted from an outbreak."

"An outbreak? From where? How?"

"You'll understand when you remember more."

Claire scoffed. "You're like a parent. It's like telling me 'You'll understand when you're older.'" She let out a deep breath, her eyes returning to a more pale red. She then stared into his eyes before getting annoyed again.

"I got my answers. Would you let me go now?"

"Of course." He smirked.

Wesker dialed someone on his phone and a clean-up crew came behind them when they left. They made it back to the room and Wesker sat down at his desk again. Claire stayed standing.

"So, did I pass the test?"

"The victim is alive, so yes. You've passed."

"Good… I suppose. But don't you dare ever make tests like that anymore." She said glaring at Wesker. She then turned and walked to take a shower, wrote some more in her notebook, watched TV, then passed out in bed.

Like last time, he waited until she was in a deep enough sleep. Her breathing was the key to know when she was. He took a hold of the notebook once again and began to read;

17th November, 4:45pm _Ach! I'm 32! (WTF!)_

_This day was. CRAZY. First my dreams, or well, memories. The black-haired man is still a mystery, I don't know if it's this 'Eddy' man. It looks like I was pretty close to him. Warm and happy memories! But when I touched the gun; Is that how I met Leon? He's a police officer? And that thing behind us in the car?_

_I definitely have more questions than __answers._

_And that 'test' surgery. I felt like myself, like I was in my place of comfort! I was glad I helped him, even though I was told after he was going to die anyways. It felt awesome grabbing Albert's collar. It's funny, but I wanted to do that for a LONG time! I WANT MORE ANSWERS!_

_P.S. Albert, please stop reading my notebook. It's private y'know? :)_

Wesker sighed and smiles. She knew he read it. Of course she would. It didn't matter. He was curious as to who the black haired man was. She thought she was close to this man. As well to tell the truth, he was quite surprised with her strength when she grabbed his collar and pushed him back. Her recovery really was coming along nicely and the virus was doing its job.

One thing that wasn't common between her and her brother was that even when she was angry, she still called him Albert. He began to tolerate it. He wondered if she'll take longer to recover her memories if she continues with 'Albert' rather than 'Wesker'. He quit the thought since it was a risk to even rely on such a theory.

He placed her notebook back on the table and returned back to his computer.


	5. The Truth

Chapter Four: The Truth

**Edited by: Naoko Suki **

* * *

><p>Day's passed on and everything was the same for her, a repeat of the previous day's routines.<p>

Sleep shower, TV, lab tests, TV, write then sleep again. Of course she ate though, but only if she was hungry.

The progress of her memory hasn't really progressed, but she was able to get a few things from Wesker here and there. Then the memories veined to learning names. Some from Raccoon City, Harvartville and from the hospital she worked at. The black haired man she remembered was still a mystery though.

She was usually stuck on the couch, and _he_ was stuck to his chair, working every day. _How can he not take a break? Jeez._ Claire just changed the channel to the news, where the reporter had been talking of a very specific incident;

-"A few days ago, a terrible car accident had taken place on 16th street, the long back road leading to New York. Two cars were severely damaged. While one driver was found dead in his car, the other driver's body was missing from the scene. The missing driver has now been found out to be Dr. Claire Redfield, surgeon of the New York Central Hospital. Police do not have very specific details, but our informer has told us that she is most likely dead. We spoke with the Hospital Director, Jeremy Ferry:

-"We all have great hope that Dr. Redfield is alright. She excelled in her career, and everyone at this hospital knew and loved her. One of the many things she taught us was that 'There is always hope.'"

-"Is work without her the same?"

-"How could you-! We're all her friends here; we're all worried for her. We will never give up hope that she is still alive. We know she is. She's a fighter and would never give up so easily."

The report ended and Claire shut off the TV, immediately turning to Wesker. "What the hell? Did you hear that?"

"I did"

"And you have _nothing_ to say about it?"

"No, I do not."

Claire was furious. She stood up and walked to his desk, slamming his laptop closed. "I want answers."

He was finally looking at her, his eyes matching the redness of hers.

"Now."

"What answers, dear heart?"

"Oh, I don't know. Why the hell I'm still here when there's people looking for me! They all think I'm dead! I want to go back!"

"Miss Redfield, you can't." His reply was met with her fist grabbing at his collar again, pulling him from his seat.

"What the hell do you mean? I'm alive! Why can't I go back?"

He didn't let Claire keep her position. He pushed her backwards and they landed on the bed. Wesker has her pinned down by the wrists, and her body pinned down by his legs.

Claire screamed, "Ugh! Let me GO!"

"You want answers? Then listen to me carefully because I'll only say it once. You lost too much blood in your accident. Any normal person would have died, but your 'Redfield Will' allowed you to live long enough for me to find you. If you hadn't received the virus I gave you, you would be dead. You, in fact, died on the operating table." He noticed Claire's eyes widen; "You were dead for over an hour, but the virus brought you back to life. Tell me, of somehow you came back to 'life', how do you think they'll check you?"

"They will try to treat me- A blood test…" Her eyes fell and looked to the side.

"Exactly, when they examine you to see if you're alright, and they take that blood sample from you they'll find out about that virus. Remember what I told you before, and what they'll do to you? Do you really want that?"

She struggled more trying to push him off, but to no avail. "Of course not! I don't want to become a sociopath's lab rat!"

"What?"

"The man from my 'test'. He was infected with one of _your_ labs viruses' right?" Wesker seemed to be taken aback, but it looked as if Claire hadn't noticed. She continued, "Answer me!"

"Yes, it was one of our viruses'." No one moved, only silence hung in the air.

"What are you thinking about Claire?"

"I'm thinking that I'll probably spend the rest of my life with you in this fucking room! If there's ever going to be an end to all this…" She looked into his eyes." There's no way I could go back to my old life, is there?"

"I am truly sorry-"

"No!" She cut him off and laughed a little. "No, you're not sorry at all."

"What would give you that idea?"

"This little weird feeling inside of me, it's strange you know? Everything in my body is yelling 'Beware of this place! Don't trust anyone here!' Yet in some twisted way I trust you. Don't ruin that because I certainly don't give second chances."

"I'll try to remember that. Anymore questions while we're here?"

"Yes. Who's Steve?"

He chuckled. "How should I know of every boy you've dated?"

Her eyebrows narrowed. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are! Have you forgotten already? First, I'm a doctor. Secondly, I can hear every noise. Even if you're not exactly human anymore, your heart began beating faster the second I mentioned Steve, and your smell is different.

"Impressive, Miss Redfield."

"What do you know about him?"

"Not too much, I only know that he was in prison with you."

"I was in prison?"

"You'll understand later when you remember it. Now do you finally have everything out you wanted to ask?"

"No." She heard him sigh. "I want a laptop."

"You _want_? Well aren't you asking nicely." He noticed she looked down at their bodies.

"And you're nice to me right now? You know, you are heavier than you look, probably all that _dead_ weight."

"Is that-"

"Yes that's everything! Get off me and give me a fucking laptop! I'm dying of boredom here! The TV is old, and you're working all the damned time. What am I suppose to do? Strip and watch my clothes?"

"That would be interesting."

Claire huffed; "Just let me go!"

He swiftly stood up and went back to sit on his chair then spoke; "We are not spending the rest of our lives here. We're moving tonight."

"What? Moving? You've got a house?"

"Yes, I do. Also, you'll be having a guest today. I must leave in a while to prepare today so she will be coming to watch you. We will take leave tonight when I return."

"I don't need a babysitter!"

"No, you do not, but I wanted to make sure you're not 'dying of boredom'."

"Wha? Whatever." She stood and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

An hour or so passed, and she was back on the bed watching TV. He, of course, was still glued to his desk. Claire's concentration broke when she heard someone open the door. A girl stepped in, young, like twenty years old. She had blonde hair and wore a white shirt, with black pants and heels.

"Sorry that I'm late Uncle Albert. Hello Claire."

_Uncle?_ Claire looked at the girl with a confused face. "Do I know you?"

Disappointment had shown in the girls eyes, but was quickly replaced by a small smile. "You weren't joking Uncle. She really doesn't remember anything."

"No, she doesn't. I'll be back soon." He stated and left. The girl smiled to Claire and sat next to her on the bed.

"Do you really not remember who I am?"

"No I don't, sorry."

"Do you remember anything from Raccoon City?"

"Not much. I remember monsters, some guy named Leon, and a little girl. I don't remember her name at all though. Why?"

"Claire, I'm that little girl, Sherry."

"What? You were- you ARE her? Wow, you've grown so fast! And you've grown so pretty! I'm sorry I didn't remember before."

"Thank you, and don't worry. Did you want to know more about Raccoon City?"

"Yes! Everything you know! Albert isn't very talkative." They both laughed in understanding then Sherry began to tell the story.

It was a good two hours of a tale. Claire was amazed at how much they all went through.

"I really left you and Leon?"

"Yeah, but that's okay. You had to find your brother, and Leon took care of me the best he could."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that I left you alone. I'm so sorry…"

"I know you are, you used to write letters to me. The last one was 4 some years ago. You told me that you were very busy in your career, but you always promised that you'd write when you had the time. I know how busy your job can be Claire, I could never blame you." Both girls smiled, "It's only Six o'clock. Is there anything you want to know more of?"

"Yes! But enough talk about me, how about your life? Anything interesting?" Claire said laying her head on a pillow and gestured Sherry to do the same on the adjacent one.

Sherry laid down, "Where should I start…"

"Well, what are you studying?"

"I always wanted to be like you, so I'm an intern at the hospital in West New York."

"Wow! That's an amazing achievement! How's your private life? Not much time, huh?"

"Yeah but I…do have someone."

"Really?" Claire almost jumped.

"Yeah.." Sherry had to blush.

"What's his name?"

"Oscar. Oscar Nightwood."

"Hmm..." Claire grew a smirk. "Sherry Nightwood, It fits well—Oof!" Claire rubbed her side; she was definitely just poked hard by Sherry.

"Stop it… He's kind of shy, I don't know if he…"

"Well, you want to wear a white dress, don't you?"

"Who doesn't?" They both gave a little laugh.

"Exactly! So start telling him stories that your friend is getting married, and how happy your friend is and other bullshit like that. Men usually take that as a hint. You have to act diplomatic. Let him know what you want, but indirectly. Let him think that he thought of the whole idea."

"Sounds like a plan! How did you know?"

"I don't know. Some sorta' déjà vu." Claire went into thought, but Sherry interrupted.

"Hey, you want my number?"

"Yeah, and an e-mail address would be nice too!"

"My address? I gave it to you—Oh, right I forgot you don't remember. There you go." She handed Claire her business card.

"Thank you Sherry." She stated as she accepted the card.

"Oh, and one more thing. I know about your virus, so you don't have to worry about talking to me about it."

"Oh, thank God." Claire let out the breath she held when she mentioned the virus.

"I heard you're going to the Halloween Party with Uncle."

Claire nodded in response.

"I'll be there too."

"Great, I'll love having a person I can talk with. I don't really have any other company you know." They had both laid back and took a breather from all the information until Claire spoke once more. "Albert's coming."

"Huh? How do you know?

"I can hear his steps. They keep getting louder, and only he walks like that."

Not even a minute later Wesker stepped into the room. He looked a little surprised when he saw the two on the bed.

"Why are you so early?" Sherry was disappointed.

"Yeah, no offence, but you've disturbed us." Claire agreed, and Wesker's brow rose.

"Disturbed you? Maybe I should just wait outside?"

"That doesn't mean shit. We both know that won't stop you from hearing us."

"Well, Miss Redfield, you are right about that. Are you ready?"

"Yeah I just have to grab my purse. Can Sherry come with us?"

"If she wants to, then of course." Sherry smiled.

"Thank you Uncle Albert."

"We really should be going."

Both girls nodded and smiles walking out of the room. On the way to the parking lot, Wesker was questioning Claire.

"Have you remembered anything else today?"

"Yeah but just in short flashes. As fast as they come they disappear."

Sherry stepped in; "What names do you remember now? It' helps if you talk about them."

"Well now, I know of Chris, Jill, Leon and Rebecca. They worked together. Steve, Joe, Amelia, David. Oh! Also Angela, Merry, Sarah, Jane, Jeremy and some guy named Corn." Claire surprised herself with the names. She may not remember where they were all from but she at least remembered them.

Sherry laughed. "Corn. Gosh I'd pay all the money in the world to know what he looked like."

"If I could remember my credit card pin number, I would pay any amount too!" They both laughed again.

"Hey Claire, tell me what it's like having amnesia?" Sherry questioned.

"Oh, it's very weird. You see people, or hear their names and you have certain feelings towards them. But I don't know why. I don't feel like I know them at all. For example, I see a scientist doing experiments in a lab. My mind was telling me 'he's got nice hair', but my heart wanted to rip his eyes out!"

Sherry let out a chuckle. "And what did you feel when you saw me?"

"I felt…relieved. Relieved and happy. Does that make sense to you?"

"Totally." She put her arm around Claire's waist and pulled them together. Claire did the same and smiled. It was as if they were friends for years.

"So what did you decide about your 'Oscar' problem?"

Wesker's ears perked up as the girls spoke. _Oscar? Who is Oscar?_

"About him… I think I'm gonna' do what you told me. But when he asks me what friend it is, I'll be sending him to you, okay?"

A smile formed on Claire's face. "Sure, but you have to call me first!"

"I don't have your-"

"Miss Redfield's phone is waiting in her room."

"You…You bought me a phone?"

Wesker gave a small 'hn' as he nodded his head once.

"Well, thank you Albert…" She grinned at him, and a corner of his lips rose. "Where is your house anyways?"

"It's out of the city."

"I think I know why. All the smells and noises here are killing your head as much as it is mine."

* * *

><p>Chris opened the front door. He never expected these two men to be at his door. In front of him stood Mr. Cortez and Mr. Ferry.<p>

"May we come in Chris?" Chris knew Mr. Ferry from a Christmas party he went to with Claire.

"Sure." He gestured them to come in, and they all sat in the living room. Jill made her way in when she heard people at the door and sat down as well. Christ started, "Has there been any progress?"

"Mr. Redfield. It's been over a week since the accident-" Chris then almost cut him off, but Mr. Ferry beat him to it.

"Chris, let him talk." He relaxed when he saw Chris calm down.

"-Like I said, it's been over a week. We've been searching everywhere. In our state, officers in other nearby states but nothing has come up. The procurator has closed this investigation. Your sisters' status is deceased." Chris' eyes widened and he went pale. Jill began to tense and cry.

All of a sudden Chris jumped up. "How can you still say such bull shit? It's only been a SINGLE week, and you're giving up? You don't know for sure. Her body went missing there's still—"

"Enough Christopher!" Ferry interjected.

"The truth is, there was a miniscule chance that she could have survived this! I could tell from the photos of the accident. I know Claire is a survivor, but even the toughest man would have died. There was too much blood in the car for her to still be alive, and the fragments on the wheel show she had definitely hit her head hard enough to cause brain damage! Please try to understand. Look at yourself. You're malnourished, barely sleeping or eating. All of us, including Jill. We're all depressed, but would Claire want you like this? Almost everyone has lost hope now…"

"But Claire says—"

"'There is always hope', I know that Chris. But do you think that I would lie to you? The results speak for themselves. Please try to move on from this, you need to think about it."

"Think? Think about what?"

"Let her die in peace. With friends and family, please consider arrangements for a funeral.

Chris's face was beet red from yelling, "NO! I will NOT give up!"

"CHRIS!" Jill yelled with choked sobs. "Please...do you think Claire would want you to waste and destroy your life on a false hope? It's better that we just accept it. Please Chris…" She moved to hug him, crying into his shirt. He stared down, and held her tightly.

Mr. Cortez then spoke again, "Sir, I know a funeral is your decision, but the investigation is over. She has been pronounced dead. All the evidence in her car points to that fact. Please understand our decision."

Chris' eyes stayed on Jill as he thought. His heart pulled at him to no end.

"Let me think about it, and I will call you."

The men nodded, stood and left the apartment. Chris stood there for a long time until he looked down and Jill had fallen asleep in his arms. He lifted her up, and took her upstairs to bed without waking her. He then returned back downstairs and walked over to the small picture frame on the table. In it was a photo of Claire, Leon, Jill and himself on a beach. He remembered that day clearly. The girls had been begging for a vacation, so they finally took one. It was the best week of his life. He sat on the couch with the fame in his hand, stuck in deep thought. He finally picked up the phone.

"Chris?" He heard Ferry on the other end say his name.

"I'll set up a funeral." He stated dryly and hung-up. He then slammed the phone against the wall, and covered his face in his hands. He heard Jill run up to him and hug him. As he looked at her, a small tear escaped his eye before he quickly wiped it with his palm.

"I agreed, Jill."

* * *

><p>Review?<p> 


	6. Why Joe? Why?

Chapter Five: Why Joe? Why?

**Edited by: Naoko Suki ~ she's doing amazing job! ;D**

* * *

><p>Claire's eyes were already wide when they pulled up to his home, but standing inside left her mouth agape. 'Wow' was the only word that escaped her lips. <em>Oh my God.<em>

The mansion was far out of town, decorated in a sleek vanilla siding. The yard and blooming gardens reached right up to forest line encompassing the home. No neighbors. Just the wildlife and their bodies were present. The inside was a huge change from the outside. It was all colored with brown, gold and red hues. It definitely felt like an old royal home.

She took another step forward and peered into the living room. It was _humungous_ to say the least. A large flat screen TV hung on the left wall. A large bookshelf stood to the left of it, an arched doorway she couldn't really see through to the right of it and a red couch sat in front. In the middle of the room lied a large red and gold Chinese decorated carpet, with a black couch and two arm chairs placed within it. She also noticed the glass coffee table in the center of the furniture was dustless. _At least it's been kept clean._

On the far right wall of the living room, there were three doors, all made of dark brown wood. Wesker seemed to have taken notice of where she was looking.

"Your room is the far left door. The kitchen is through there." He pointed to the arch she wasn't able to see through. "You have your own bathroom in your room. My room is in the middle, and my office is on the right. I believe you know where the garden is, and I trust you know where you should or should not go 'explore'." Claire was finally able to blink as she took it all in. "That is all. I'll be leaving you two for the time being." He stated as he went and disappeared behind his office door.

Sherry sighed and clapped her hands down on her sides. "Welcome home, Claire!"

She looked at Sherry and smirked. "Yeah, thanks." She had meant it, but the thrill of the place still hadn't left her blood. "Hey, let's sit down."

She nodded and followed Claire to the black couch.

"Can you promise me something Sherry?"

She looked at her somewhat surprised. "Hmm? What exactly of?"

"If Oscar does 'propose' to you, you'll tell me first." Her voice was softer as to not talk as loud.

Sherry grinned, "Of course! It was your idea to begin with. You're the one I wanted to tell in the first place anyways!"

Claire laughed and was about to say something until they both heard something vibrate. Sherry pulled out her pager and looked disappointed.

"You're on call at the hospital aren't you?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, I have to go. I've already taken a bit more time off than I should have. Sorry about this Claire. I'll see ya at the party."

"When is it anyways?"

"It's actually tomorrow, so sleep well!" Sherry said making her way to the door.

"Save some lives!" Claire yelled out before she heard the door close.

She sighed to herself. What should she do now? Although she did have a bit more space to roam freely, she didn't want to eat or watch TV. She chose to check out her own bedroom. Opening the door, she stepped in and turned on the light. The bedroom was a very decent size. Walls were a royal red, other than a single accented wall in gold. The bed was definitely a king sized one, with a golden bed frame and scarlet red sheets. She had come to the conclusion everything in this house must have been either one of these colors. To the right of the bed was a large window, with beautiful white, floor length curtains with gold and red roses embroidered near the bottom. On the wall to the right of the window was a dark brown door which she suspected lead to the bathroom.

Another smaller door to the right was a bit ajar, so she opened it and stepped in. It was a closet full of clothes in black, white, green and red colors. She'd never seen that many clothes before other than in stores. She breathed out and closed the closet door. Turning around she saw a desk at the left side of the bed. Atop of the desk was a lamp, some designer sunglasses and the cell phone Wesker earlier said he'd given her. The last thing was a small box, and when she opened it, it contained contact lenses. The lenses were colored ones, in a grass-like green shade.

_This is all too much._ She thought. Closing the lid, she took off her jacket and fell backwards onto her bed. _How the hell can someone afford all of this? Well I suppose it is 'him' after all._

She was startled into a sitting position when she heard a knock and the door open. Wesker had walked in with a dress and a few small boxes.

"What's all that?" Claire asked confused.

"It's your outfit for tomorrow night. Don't tell me you've forgotten already, dear heart?" He spoke as he laid the dress out flat on the bed, and placed the boxes adjacent to it. "Is there something wrong?"

"No nothing just…" She paused and looked at him with a sort of sad smile; "Thank you Albert."

He nodded and left. She looked to her side at the dress and stood as picked it up. It was a brilliant crimson red dress, and the fabric felt expensive in her fingers. There were thin red straps and when she held it to herself, it went past her knees in length. There was a long slit up the right side of the dress, and it didn't stop until it was at the higher part of her thigh. The dress looked like it would be tight, but a nice fit. She smiled at the dress because she did love the color of it. Opening the first of the boxes she noticed it contained metallic silver heels. Wait._ Heels? Oh God NO!_ She let out a whined laugh and put them back into the box before opening the second one. Inside this one was a pair of silver earrings. She looked at them closer, and noticed they had matched perfectly to her necklace. It surprised her but made her smile thinking that he had purchased them for that reason.

The third box contained a wig. A blonde-curled wig. _What, does he only want to be seen with blondes?_ She huffed, but then realized that if she were to go out, she couldn't be recognized. She understood why then decided to try it on, but when she lifted it she instantly dropped it onto the bed. Her eyes narrowed, and then tears fell down her cheeks. She had begun to remember things of Rockfort Island and Antarctica. Then she remembered Steve.

_He…said he loved me, and he died for… _She began to breathe heavier and turned to make her way out of her room. She knocked and walked into Wesker's office without waiting for an answer, although the room looked more like a lab than an office it didn't matter. She was still upset.

"What's wrong Claire?" He had spoken after looking at her.

"I think I remember Rockfort." Wesker was surprised, but he didn't dare show it.

"And…?"

"Steve. He died because of some virus that…Alexia game to him, right? The T-Veronica virus? Were all those zombies actually an outbreak? What caused it, the T-Virus? Who let such a thing happen? Some sick bastard who was bored with lab rats, and decided to use it on humans instead? No person deserves such a thing…"

Wesker was staring at her as she spoke, trying to get a much details from her as possible. He doesn't want her to know just yet how he took any part in what happened, and like he thought, she didn't. She wasn't talking about him being the 'bastard', or what happened when they first 'met' in front of Alfred's Mansion. She really hadn't remembered a thing about him.

He turned back around when she finished, "Claire, from what you know now, it'll be only about a week until you know everything and get your answers. You should not have come in here, and even though you did, you came when I was busy. You need to leave."

Claire was taken aback, but no time was put into that as she slammed her fist into the wall and hissed at him. "You know what? You think it's okay to only be kind when you need to or when someone else is around, but to me you're a jerk. You'll always be a cold asshole!" She quickly turned and left, slamming the door behind her.

He heard her footsteps loudly enter the kitchen and stood up, eyeing the pieces of debris that was falling from the hole on the wall Claire created. He then walked out to the kitchen.

"What are you doing now, dear heart?"

"Don't 'dear-heart' me, what do you think I'm doing in the kitchen? Can you not see with your sunglasses on anymore? I'm cooking! I'm angry and I'm hungry, so get out!" The slam of a knife against the counter echoed her last word.

Weskers' brow rose. "This is my house, and I believe I can be wherever I wish."

"No, now it's _our_ house Albert. You've got your beloved lab, and I've got this wonderful kitchen. I know now not to bother you in your room, so don't fucking disturb me when I cook! I just want to be alone!"

He raised one of his hands as he turned and walked away, back into his office. He had wondered what will happen when she remembers everything; when she discovers that he lied about her brother being dead._ Now, with her power?_ He smirked. She'll most definitely try to kill him. That will be one very interesting day.

He started to type again, but stopped when he heard Claire humming a song, placing a few words into the tune as she went.

'_Bad boys, bad boys,  
>What'cha gonna do? What'cha gonna do when they come for you?<br>Hmmm mmm hmm…'_

He almost had to laugh. There is no doubt Chris raised her, for he used to hum the same tune in STARS. The humming stopped and finally he could only hear regular 'kitchen' noises; as one would call them.

After almost two hours, an aroma had made its way into his office; the smell definitely interested him and he wonder what was made. He walked to the kitchen and noticed two plates with some cube-shaped pieces of food placed on them. A small smile spread on his lips.

"Stop smiling like a creepy idiot and eat before it gets cold."

He ignored her choice of words and sat down to take a taste of the food. "What is this, Claire?" asking after he swallowed.

"Lasagna? You've never seen it before?" She had to giggle. How could someone not know what it is? "Well, is it up to your standards?"

"If you're asking me if it tastes good, then yes it does. Where did you learn to make it?"

Claire shrugged. "I dunno I just made it. Hey! I think you know already but, I remembered my mother's name was Amelia, and she was French."

"Yes, I did know. How about your father?"

"He's American. Jonathan Redfield."

"That is correct." Wesker replied as Claire sat down with him. They continued to eat in silence until they finished.

"Who am I going as to the party with you?"

He set his fork down, "What do you mean 'Who'?"

"You know, as a friend, cousin, workmate, sister…" She seemed to be counting out the list on her fingers until Wesker interrupted.

"As my… date." Claire choked on the wine she was swallowing.

"WHAT?"

Wesker swirled the wine in his glass, "The man who was with me when I found you at your accident wants me to come with you. He's told his wife about you and she wants to meet you as well. I am just as 'thrilled' about it as you are."

"Don't you know the word 'No'?"

"He's my employer. Besides, I thought you'd enjoy a little interaction with other people."

"Oh, well you've sure dug me in a deep hole. Let me guess, the wife is some obsessive woman who thinks I'm sleeping with her husband because I'm all he has to talk about at his job, right?"

"Yes, you seem to have gotten the point. He asked it as a favor to help 'save' his marriage."

"Whatever." Claire sighed "You should have just taken Sherry with you and lied."

"Sherry is coming with her boyfriend. I also wanted to see how well your acting skills are. Can you walk in heels?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Forget it, I'm going to sleep!" She stood and placed her dishes in the sink.

"Goodnight, dear heart." He said as she walked past him.

She murmured an 'Asshole' to him as a reply before leaving the room.

_Oh he makes me so furious!_

* * *

><p>She was lying right in the middle of the bed; it was her favorite. Her head was turned in the direction of the window as she rested peacefully until she heard the scariest noise one could hear at night; the door squeaking open. She shot up and looked towards the door, terrified. There stood Wesker in his black boxers <em>without<em> sunglasses. But wait, only in _boxers?_

Her eyes went wide; "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"What do you think I'm doing in a bedroom Claire? Maybe I'm going to bed?" He spoke, and was only reminded of the sarcasm she gave him earlier.

"Why here? You have your own damned room!"

"I told you before that this is my house, and I can be wherever I want to be." He stated as he walked to her bed and laid down on the left side of it; back facing and barely touching Claire."Goodnight, dear heart."

"Go to hell." She said, turning on her side facing the window.

She stayed in the middle of the bed. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of making her angry. With a spur of strength she pulled all the covers over herself, leaving Wesker with none. She felt him move and let out a sigh.

"Do you not understand the meaning of 'sharing', Miss Redfield?"

"If you don't like it then you can leave. Besides, you should have brought your own sheets."

"Allow me half of the covers, Claire."

"No." She pouted and grabbed the sheets tightly.

"This is the last time I'll ask, release the sheets."

"No. Shut the hell up and let me sleep."

It was quiet for a minute, and then Wesker seemed to do the same thing as Claire, pulling all the sheets from her. She was now in his previous state; not covered at all. She turned and glared at him.

"Give it back! Ugh!" She yelled, and pulled one of the sides, which then caused the sheet to tear in two.

"Great, you happy now? You got your damned half, now shut up and sleep!" she said covering her body and finally falling asleep. He smirked and finally closed his eyes to rest.

He felt a weight roll over onto his chest in the middle of the night, and Wesker's brain almost jumped out of his skull at the movement. He quickly opened his eyes, and saw a certain red-heads body lay over him. Her arm was wrapped around his chest, and her leg was flopped over his. He sighed from the false emergency and tried to gently push her off of him, but it only seemed to worsen the situation. She just grabbed tighter. He continued to try but to no avail.

"Don't... you're cuddly." She mumbled in her sleep. He smirked. He really didn't have a choice. A quiet Redfield was a good one, so he just went back to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When he woke up the next morning, she wasn't in bed anymore. He sat on the end of the bed and listened. She was out listening to music on the TV. He smiled a bit, and had wondered if she woke up on him and freaked out, or if she even remembered at all. He checked his cell for the time. It was just past noon. Feeling he slept way too long he quickly got dressed with some of his spare clothes that were in her room and left it and to be greeted by Claire.

"Good morning. You know, you don't seem like a person who sleeps this long into the day."

She didn't remember, he thought.

"Good morning dear heart. Did you sleep well?"

"Quite." Her reply was dainty. "Did you?"

He nodded in response. "I did, thank you."

"Oh! I meant to ask, what time is the party at?"

"It's at 8pm, so be ready before hand." He replied and walked into his office.

When 6pm rolled around Claire decided it was time to get dressed for this evening. She went into her room and slipped on her dress. She was amazed. The dress worked very well for her figure. Her heels were the right size and not too high, and the earrings looked wonderful with her necklace. She tied back her hair and affixed the wig to her head. She had to laugh, she loved her red hair, and would never dye it any other color. Lastly, she put in her contacts. The lenses really made the outfit. They were dark enough to cover her red eyes, and she looked normal again.

"Ready?" She heard and spun around to see Wesker standing at the door. His black suit was very modern, and his red shirt matched his eyes, although he was just slipping on his glasses as she said that, no one else would ever know. He looked pretty sexy.

_Oh hell no. Sexy? What the hell are you thinking Claire? _She mentally hit herself. Except now Wesker was still standing there watching her. She still hadn't answered his question, and she was definitely just caught staring at him.

She hastily shook her head up and down. "Yeah I'm ready! You sure you're not ashamed to go with me?"

"No, I am not ashamed. You look…decent."

"Was that a compliment?" she asked with a coy grin on her face.

"Shall we leave now?" he seemed annoyed when he asked.

"Of course!" She walked past him with her chin up high; proving to him that she can _indeed_ walk in heels.

In the car, Claire continued to ask questions about the party.

"Do you know that 'Mr. Browns' wife in person?"

"Yes, she is a very kind woman, but I suggest you to keep your distance if possible."

"That's alright, I know Sherry will be there so I'll just try and stick with her. But there's something I wanted to know, is it possible for me to get…drunk?"

He looked to her, then back at the road. "To be honest I've never indulged myself that much to know if it affects us."

"Do you have any alcohol in the house?"

"What are you up to dear heart?"

"A test, perhaps." She grinned at him. "Oh before I forget, what should I tell Mrs. Brown when she asks me what our relationship is?"

"Obviously that we're on a date, Claire."

"So if I say something like 'I like him', that'll be enough?"

He had to smirk, "It should be."

The rest of the drive was silent. Once they arrived at the hotel where the party was being held, he took Claire's hand and looped it through his arm before they walked inside.

Claire noticed the sign for the ballroom had read 'Closed Party' and beside it stood a guard that was checking some sort of card or pass people owned. They got closer and she noticed Wesker held out and showed the guard a card that read 'Tricell' on it. It had worked since the guard had confirmed it opening the doors and allowing them to enter.

The inside of the ballroom actually had looked quite common to her compared to Albert's home. Just a bar, a bunch of tables and balloons in every shade of green possible, in every possible place you could put them. From what she researched, it didn't look that Halloween-y.

"Claire?"

"Hmm?" She sounded, but she was still looking around the room.

"Remember here, that you are known as Claire only to the Browns, Sherry, Oscar and I. For anyone else, your name will be Maia Birkin; William's younger sister."

"Whoa, who made up that name?"

"Sherry did."

"And Oscar knows too?"

"She decided to not have any secrets with him. Besides, he wouldn't dare speak a word of it to anyone."

"Why?" she chuckled "Has he met you?"

"Twice." Claire then had to laugh. "Behave now, dear heart."

She covered her smile with her hand and muttered an apology to him.

"Maia!"

Someone shouted behind them. It was Sherry and whom she believed to be Oscar. She was wearing a purple cocktail dress, black heels and sported a beautiful pearl necklace around her neck. Oscar was wearing a black suit with a navy blue dress shirt; the top two buttons on it were undone.

"Sorry." Sherry said out of breath after running up to Wesker and Claire. "I couldn't call you 'Claire' that loud. Do you like the name I gave you?"

"Yeah very!" She smiled and looked to Sherry's date. "You must be Oscar, it's nice to meet you!" They held out their hands and shook them. "Sherry told me a lot about you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Claire. She told me a lot about you as well." He smiled exchanging nods with Albert. "Mr. Wesker." He greeted.

"Claire, you'll never guess what!" Sherry gasped to Claire.

"What!"

"Oscar proposed to me!" She held up her hand to show off the diamond ring on her finger. Wesker looked over at the two when he heard the news and noticed Claire's face had become distant. He knew that look, she had just remembered something. But she had appeared sad.

"Claire? Are you alright?" Sherry asked waving her hand in front of Claire's face. Claire instantly shook her head and put on the brightest smile.

"Oh! Oh my God! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" She jumped from her spot and hugged the happy couple.

"Did you two want something to drink?" Oscar asked the two girls.

"Yes, something strong on ice." replied Claire.

"I'll go with you!" Sherry stated as she went off to the bar with Oscar.

"You had a flashback." His voice came from beside her.

"Yeah, if you're actually interested this time, I'll tell you later at home, okay?"

"Alright. Oh, the Brown's are heading over to us." Claire looked at the direction Albert had been and noticed a couple walking towards them. The woman looked like she was in her mid forties, was average sized and wore a black cocktail dress and heels. Her necklace and earrings matched; large diamonds hung from all three pieces. The man dressed in a black suit was taller than his wife, but not much taller than Claire.

"Oh sweetheart! It's good to see you up and about!" Robert said with glee. "How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you." She felt a bit nervous but hid it. "Hello Mrs. Brown, It's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand, and the woman happily accepted it.

"Oh, it's Samantha, and it's nice to finally meet you honey! Robbie has told me about your situation. I apologize for everything you've been through."

"It's okay; I'm living a great life now. Not every human can get a second chance."

"That is very true. Have you remembered anything from your normal life?"

"Only bits and pieces, but I'm still working on it." She glanced over at Albert and _Robbie_, "Let's leave the boys to talk." She smiled and took Sam's hand, walking over to the bar where Sherry stood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"She looks so beautiful Albert. You're a lucky man. Is she stable?" his hands clasped each other.

"Yes, and I have to agree, she is looking rather _pleasing_ tonight."

"So that's it? Albert you are so dull sometimes, you know? You should open yourself up soon, or you will be dying alone!"

"Sentimental lines now? Why should you be so worried of my future?"

"You could die at any time Albert. I know the virus makes it so you don't look or grow older at all, but look at yourself. You're lonely and you're dying _inside._ How much has your life changed since we saved that girl?"

"You've been brainwashed being with your wife. I prefer to be alone."

"No. You just get _used_ to being alone. There's a difference."

Wesker's eyes narrowed but didn't show a single emotion to Robert. He quickly changed the subject onto more business matters rather than his own personal ones.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Claire, are you sure you're okay? You're on your fifth drink now…" Sherry asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm completely cool! I'm just happy for your guys."

"Yes! My, I am quite happy for you two. Congratulations!" Sam said and smiled.

To be honest Claire was scared of Robert and a little freaked of Wesker, but around Sam she felt comfortable. She was a wonderful, caring woman.

"Thank you Sam." Sherry beamed.

They all began to talk about Sherry's wedding preparations, getting opinions from both Sam and Claire really helped her out.

As time went on and more drinks filled her stomach, Claire found herself to be completely drunk. She had suddenly burst out laughing at herself, earning some silly smiles from Oscar and Sam.

"That's it! Sam, watch her for a minute, I'm going to look for Uncle Albert."

"Say 'hi' to Robbie and Albie for me!" Claire spouted in between her laughing fit.

"Great…" Sherry mumbled and walked over to Wesker who was still speaking with Mr. Brown.

"Hello guys. Claire wanted me to say 'hi to Robbie and _Albie_." Robert laughed at the pet name and Wesker just sighed, looking to Sherry.

"What? What happened?"

"She's totally drunk. Laughing out loud to herself. Very loudly I may add. I suggest you may want to take her home Uncle." Wesker only nodded and went to the bar, walking right up beside Claire.

"Hi Albie! Wanna join?"

"No dear heart. I think we should get you home."

"What? Why?" She snapped at him.

"It's late, and I'm pretty sure you have had a few too many drinks."

"Would it kill you to just admit it and say 'You're tired'?"

His voice seemed tenser. "Stand up and lets go."

"You really thing I can stand in these heels without falling flat on my face?"

He just sighed at her attitude. "Give me your hand."

He helped her stand and put an arm around her waist to protect her from falling. He heard her thank her friends for the companionship that night. When they got to his car, he helped her get seated before he got into his door and began to drive home.

Claire seemed to awaken from a momentary haze and throw her wig into the backseat.

"I'm sorry." She stated. He just glanced at her while he drove. "I shouldn't have gotten drunk like that; I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"It wasn't that horrible, but I trust you had a reason for that magnitude of alcoholic consumption."

"Hell yes I did, but I'll tell you at home."

Another ten minutes passed and Claire began to speak again.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yes, you may."

"…Will you answer it?"

He just smirked. "Possibly."

"Okay, but I want a truthful answer. _If_ you were engaged, would you betray you fiancée?"

Her question surprised him; completely out of the blue. He thought about it. Marriage and relationships to him was like researching. He would always work hard on them, and always deal with problems along the way.

"No, I wouldn't. I stick to my decisions and take responsibility." He finished and Claire just nodded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they got home, Wesker guided her to sit on the black couch. He wanted to know what made Claire act so strangely at the party. "Tell me what you remembered; at the party." He sat beside her and noticed tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I remember the whole accident day. And I know now who the black haired man is." Tears fells out harder from her eyes, and Albert waited patiently for her to continue. "He was my fiancé."

Wesker hid the surprise in his eyes, and kept his face calm. _Engaged?_

"I suppose I should start from the beginning. He was a surgeon like me and with me in the same hospital. This certain day he had to go in early, and I was able to rest for a bit longer before I arrived. I had gotten there and had performed some surgeries and I wanted to rest before the next person. So I was walking to the small bunk rooms we were given at the hospital and one of my friends for some reason tried to stop me. I just wanted to sleep so I pushed past her, and walked in on my fiancée fucking my best friend Jane." Claire wiped the tear in her eye and became angry.

"I flipped, and threw my shitty ring at them and screamed we were over. And of all things he stood up naked in front of me trying to apologize. I didn't want to hear any shit excuses, so I broke his nose and walked out. Apparently a lot of people knew and never told me. They said they didn't want to upset me." Her hands were clasped in her lap, and she looked straight forward.

"They told me I should have gone home, but I wanted to work. You know, to get my mind off things. The next surgery didn't do so well, and I just went home. It was raining so hard that afternoon, and I was crying so badly that I could barely see. The car beside me didn't have their lights on and I was driving too fast for them to get out of the way in time when I swerved and we both went flying." She began to cry again. "When I was laying there with my head on the wheel, the only pain that hurt me was the one that Joe gave me. Not about the pain in my chest, my arms, or even my head."

Wesker had then flinched. Not at her story, but at the fact that her head now rested upon his shoulder.

"What did I do wrong? Was I a bad person? Bad surgeon? Bad cook? Horrible in Bed? I just…I don't…" Claire bawled out once more,"…understand!"

At this moment, something played in his head as if it was said from the spokesperson of Discovery Channel; "_Albert, this is what they call hysteria."_

Claire then laid her head on his lap and looked to the ceiling, talking in a hypnotic state. "I even had the most perfect dress. Yu know, it was an exact replica of my mother's wedding dress. It was so beautiful, and cost two times more than the ones in the shop because it was custom made. You know, even Leon and his little 'Ada' told me I was making a mistake! Everybody knew! Ada even said that if she had to pick, she'd even pick _you_ over my fiancé!" Claire then stood up but didn't move. She just stood and cried, until she finally just made her way to her room.

Once inside she took out her contacts that had already been shifting in her eyes and put them away before hopping into bed and hugging a pillow. She heard Albert walk in, but made no motion to move when he sat down near her on the bed.

"Why is this always happening to me?"

"What, dear heart?"

"The men who I love. First Leon breaks my heart by marrying that bitch Ada, and I have to pretend nothings' happened. But hey, he gets to be happy, and that whores' gonna spit out a kid in four months! And then Joe being the cheating bastard he is goes and dies so I can't even be angry at him! Everybody is with someone. Rebecca, Leon and a bunch of others. Hell, I even remember Chris proposing to Jill a long time ago before you said he died! And now Sherry with Oscar. Why do I have to be alone? I don't even get to try anymore. This is for you as well. Aren't you lonely? Don't we deserve to be with someone and not hide all these secrets?"

She stopped talking and kept sobbing into her pillow until it finally went quiet. Wesker had believed she was finally asleep. He debated with himself, but decided to stand up and let her sleep when he felt a hand slip against his palm.

"Don't leave me alone, Albert." She whispered, her eyes stared into his when he turned at looked at her. They were stern and had dried, but her face remained wet from the previous tears.

He squeezed her hand in his and sat down beside her again. He held his other hand to her face and wiped a lingering tear from her cheek.

Her eyes darted back and forth between his two. She noticed he hadn't been wearing his sunglasses, and began to adore the sight his eyes held as they got closer to hers.

Their lips met after an eternity of hanging in the air. She was surprised he even did it. She didn't remember him even smiling to her in the past two weeks out of any sort of kindness.

Her head kept spinning. Of course, that smirk was always plastered on his face. He was always in control, wasn't he? Maybe he was afraid to lose control. He always kept his distance, even from people like Sherry. But now, he didn't even try.

_Why?_

She decided to find the answer later. All of her thoughts were processed in only a moment, and she then snapped back to what was going on. She didn't try to push him away. In fact, she returned his kiss. After she started to flow with him, it became more passionate. She allowed his tongue to enter her mouth and he took a hold of her shoulders, gently laying her down backwards. He was the one who broke the kiss to look down at her.

"What is the plural of you and I, dear heart?"

She looked a little hazy. "…We?"

"Yes, 'we'. And we are not lonely, Claire." He kissed her again, as if hungry for her breath. He slowly helped her dresses' straps fall from her shoulders, and she began to unbutton his red; as red as their matching, desiring eyes; shirt.

* * *

><p>That evening, far across the state in the older Redfield's home, a woman let out a deep breath as she paced in the bathroom. Working up her nerve, and pushing out all her butterflies, she walked out and made her way to the living room.<p>

"Chris?" Jill called her husbands' name as she slowly sat down on his lap.

"Hmm?" He replied nonchalantly.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

><p><strong>Did you like the chapter? Review?<strong>


	7. Let's make a deal

**Chapter Six: Let's make a deal**

**Edited by: Naoko Suki**

* * *

><p>He had slept with the Redfield. It had been the only thought to overpower his others at that late hour. He was taken aback when Claire told him she was engaged. He knew he should have just left, but before he knew it he had kissed her. Sitting up, he looked towards the girl who was turned toward the window, body half covered in the ripped sheets just like him. From what he could see on her face, she was smiling. At least she had stopped crying.<p>

His face went blank thinking about it. The sound of crying annoyed him, especially if it felt like it would never end. Then Mr. Brown's words echoed through his mind, _"You should open yourself up, or else you'll be dying alone!"_

Him? Open up? Why would fate give him a Redfield for that? When could the first sign have been? On Rockfort, or for her when she found her fiancé fooling around? Weskers' body twitched. Just thinking about her ex-fiancé making her cry made him a tad angry. Not that crying was _annoying_ for it, but he remembered when Chris used to talk about her saying she had only cried twice in her life since she was 5 years old. Claire's emotions must have opened up after the accident. What will she do when she finds everything out?

As if it were natural he ran his fingertip up her bare back, feeling Claire shudder at the touch. He closed his eyes at her reaction. A strange electric feeling went down his spine and he retracted his hand. Was _she_ the cause of it? He had never felt that way before. He took another look at Claire's face and smiled. _Smile?_ No, that was strange. Is he becoming soft, or was his virus becoming unstable? He'd have to look into that in the morning.

Tipping his head back, he remembered back to Rockfort wondering why Claire still had not remembered it. He 'played' with her back then, remembering her face and those eyes of hers. The determination in those eyes that only spouted, 'Kiss my ass' even when he stood upon and crushed her shoulder. She never ran, in fact, she stood again to defend her brother; an incredible woman. She hasn't changed since then. She hadn't seemed to age even after he injected her. Just a look of exhaustion. He turned and closed his eyes to fall back asleep.

XXXXXXXX

Before she opened her eyes she knew he was still in bed beside her. When she was with him, nothing else mattered for that moment. Not even Joe. She told herself to forget about him, that life is over. Besides, she has no family, right? That's what Albert told her. There was a little annoying voice deep inside of her telling her something was wrong, but she pushed it back all the same. It didn't make sense that something was wrong. Still, she wondered why it existed in the first place.

The sun was shining on her face; she knew it was time to get up. She slowly turned her head and saw Albert was still fast asleep. Smiling, she took her part of the ripped cover and grabbed some clothes before taking a shower. Returning to the room, she noticed Albert was awake, now sitting on the edge of the bed looking towards her.

"Good morning, dear heart."

"Oh!" she said, trying not to stare at him, "Good morning…" She felt bashful and tried to leave the room, but his voice stopped her.

"What are you going off to do?"

"Probably just go and read, why?"

"No reason, I was just asking."

She kept her body turned; only looking back every couple seconds, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Ugh, you know what I mean. Anyways, can I go out?"

He didn't speak, and just kept looking at her.

She sighed, "You know, like shopping or even out for a walk? Of course I'll be dressed as 'Maia' not Claire."

"I'll have to think about it."

"Okay." Her last words left her mouth before she was finally able to escape the room to the black couch.

XXXXXXXXX

Wesker wondered about her actually leaving the house. He supposed she could. Why not? She could always use the interaction with people. Even though she expressed interest in seeing her past, the warnings he gave her seemed to have sunk into her head. She couldn't really run away. As long as she kept that cell phone on her, he could always track her. He stood and put on his pants before walking out to Claire. She was laying on the couch reading until she looked up to him with a smile.

"Hey, did you decide yet?"

"I'll allow… 'Maia' to go out, but I'm afraid only by a taxi. I don't have a car I would be able to lend her."

Claire closed and laid her book down, "Hmm, she says it's all right if you could spare her some money." She grinned.

He continued with the awkward speech, "How much does 'she' need?"

"I don't really know. I'm sure whatever amount you give her she'll be happy." She poked his rib and returned to her book.

Wesker stood and retrieved the wig from his car, and put it into Claire's room before entering his office. He had heard her get changed and enter his office after she finished. It was kind of weird seeing her transform with the wig and contacts. He saw her stand there in a red trench coat, black skinny jeans and knee high black boots. After looking at her, he just pointed to the table beside him and turned back to his work.

Claire grabbed the pile of bills on the table, and before she left she spoke, "Thank you. I have the phone with me, and I shouldn't be more than four hours. If I'm later I'll call. See ya later!"

She almost sprinted out the door with her purse and glasses, and then jumped into the cab she called earlier. Asking to be dropped off at Central Park, she took out the money Albert had given her. _$500 dollars!_ Her brain couldn't wrap around just having that lying around the house – until she remembered where he lived. She added it to her wallet which had already held $120 from what she had been given over the time she had stayed with Albert.

XXXXXXXXX

Once she arrived at the park, she smiled to herself. Walking down the long paths made her feel happy and free to _breath._ People didn't stare at her, they just glanced. She felt normal. She knew it was pretty cold outside, but she couldn't feel it. She knew temperature barely affected her anymore. Looking around, she noticed many people doing many normal activities. Runners, bikers, kids playing, couples holding hands; kissing. Her smile slowly faded. "Joe…" she whispered to herself, and then shook her head instantly.

_He doesn't matter now. Don't you remember what he did? You have your new life now. You have Albert._

An annoying voice spoke back to her inside her head, _'Don't trust him. He's hiding something.'_

_Shut up! You're being paranoid._ Then came silence. She was glad she didn't speak out loud, she'd probably look crazy. She then wondered where she should go, and the voice came back, _'Go straight ahead; a mall.'_

She grumbled, she's definitely going crazy. Walking forward anyways, she eventually came up to a large mall. Inside were stores, cafés, restaurants and a huge fountain in the center. She lifted her glasses from her eyes and sat them atop her head. Her eyes were wide with excitement.

After a few hours of shopping she had only found herself purchasing a few cheap films on DVD. She purchased a mint ice cream and sat down on a bench watching a young couple play with their child. She frowned. There was nothing coming to her mind about her childhood. Only some blurred pictures of her family. It didn't matter though, they had all been killed. Not even able to remember their voices; she felt like crying. She threw the rest of her ice cream and walked out to get a cab.

"To the cemetery, please." The driver gave her an odd look, but just shrugged and drove her to the location. Upon arrival, she quickly paid asking for no change and got out.

_What the hell am I suppose to do now? How am I supposed to find my families gravesite?_

Her mind spoke to her again, telling her to find a grave keeper. She smelt around in the cold air, picking out the one that seemed to be everywhere in the yard. Following the most recent scent, she stumbled upon a man brushing off gravestones that were covered in leaves.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to know where the Redfield's gravesite is?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Please follow me." The man turned and began to walk, she followed suit. The man stopped after a 10 minute walk, and had felt bad to drag him so far from his worksite.

"I trust you know your way back?" The man asked.

"Yes, of course. Thank you very much." She smiled, and the man smiled as well, returning back the way they came. Looking towards the tombstones, she noticed there were three of them. Walking closer she started by reading the one furthest to the left.

_Amelia Redfield  
>1953-1984<br>Rest in peace, mother_

_Jonathan Redfield  
>1952-1984<br>Rest in peace, father_

Her eyes then went to the third tombstone, and expected to see her brother's name, but instead she read:

_Claire Redfield  
>1979-2011<br>Gone, but never forgotten  
>Fighter to the end<em>

The memories came back like a slap to the face. She fell to her knees, remembering _everything._ Her childhood, Raccoon, Rockfort, work in the hospital and in Africa, Harvardville, as well as the people. Chris, Jill, Leon, Steve and… _Albert Wesker._

_Wesker…_

He hurt her.  
>He saved her life, infected her.<br>He comforted her, slept with her and lied to her.

He _lied._

She screamed out in frustration, slamming her fists into the ground, creating holes from the impact in the dirt. Tears escaped her eyes once more.

"Chris is alive! Oh my God he's alive! He's alive…" Her head hung as she kept whispering it to herself, until she looked back at her tombstone again, anger rising in her stomach. "But he thinks I'm dead! He gave up? He gave up…" A scream of a growl kept wailing out of her as she cried.

Her eyes opened wide, as she looked at her hands. "I'm infected." She remembered Albert said she has power, when she said she had died, hoe she _cannot go back._ Then when he said _"We are not lonely, Claire."_, when he kissed and when he touched her…

"How can I- Ugh, He saved me though. In some ways he was kind to me…" That thought only made her think of last night, and she shook her head to erase the words. "Oh God, what have I done? Chris is going to kill me." She thought quietly for a moment and laughed, continuing to talk to herself. "Well, technically I'm already dead, there's nothing else he really can do. Now what am I to do now?"

She wiped her tears, and whipped out her phone out from her pocket to dial. After three rings, she heard his voice,

"Dear Heart?"

"Hey, could you come and get me?"

"Has something happened? Where are you?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm at the cemetery."

She heard his voice become sterner as he spoke, "What? Why?"

"Albert, could you just come and pick me up, please?" she said after letting out her breath, her voice had been a little shaky from crying.

"Alright, I will be there soon. Wait at the entrance, okay?"

Her voice made a noise of approval and then she hung up the phone, hurrying to the entrance of the cemetery like he had asked.

XXXXXXXXXX

When she arrived she sat down on a bench. Knowing she was told of her power, she had always kept forgetting she actually had it. It was much more amazing than scary. Being infected like him wasn't that bad. Everything she could hear, and smell, and _feel_ around her was astounding. The holes she made, how fast she ran to the entrance of the cemetery, and the best part – she had the same power as Wesker. How good it felt to stand up to him – to force him into a wall. She'd only need to train to even out their skills.

Then again, at this point in time, after everything he's done, she doesn't _hate_ him. Her eyes widened at her realization. _She liked Albert Wesker?_ Shit!

'_You saw the other side of him, that's the side you like now.'_ Her head spoke to her again, and she growled.

"Shut up!" yelling out loud, she held her temples. A headache was fast approaching. Thinking back to her accident, how the hell did she survive such a thing? What a fate, to stay alive for Wesker to save her. Was it to teach her about him, to not hate him? Or was it fate that she was to become like him? Now her thoughts went to Chris. She wondered if he should know where she is, and that she's alive? She hadn't noticed that Wesker had already been there – apparently for a minute or two- talking to her while she was rambling with her thoughts.

"Oh…Albert, could you repeat what you just said?"

"What did you miss?"

"Mm, everything?"

He sighed, "It doesn't matter. What are you doing here?"

Claire finally turned to Wesker with an annoyed face. "I came here to see my family, except instead of my _dead_ brothers grave, I just see mine." She then stood up in front of him and saw he stood as well. Claire quickly looked around her and heard no one near. With no warning, her fist drew back and she punched him in the nose. His head shot back a little, and he took a few steps away from her. He stared at her; glasses broken on the ground.

"What a great welcome, dear-" He mocked before she began to yell.

"That was for crushing my shoulder! God, I've always wanted to do that. I feel so relieved, you know?" She pulled back for another punch, but was stopped as he grabbed both of her wrists. Thinking fast, she ignored that and gave him a head-butt to his face, his nose taking the impact.

"And that was for telling me Chris was dead. I'm back Albert. I'm so back."

"I'm glad, dear heart." He knew she was reading another attack, but he turned her around by her wrists, having her back against his chest. He whispered by her ear,

"Now, do you think we can have a civilized conversation without you having to resort to violence?"

She struggled in his grip, "I don't know, you tell me? Would you be nice, or be and asshole, like always?" She cringed as he squeezed her wrists harder. "Okay, forget I said 'asshole'. I'll talk. Just let me go Albert. I won't try anything, unless you piss me off, of course."

He spun her around and looked into her eyes with a glare. She took his hand and guided him to the bench, sitting down, she began to speak.

"Why would you lie about Chris?"

"If I would have told you the truth, you would have escaped much earlier and gone to them already."

"Well, of course I would, I'd want-" she was cut off by Albert this time.

"I could not let you go, you were not stable enough, let alone the fact that everyone thinks you're dead. What would you tell them? That you died and came back to life?"

"But I did."

He was growing frustrated, "Yes, and now you are _infected_. I've already told you, no one can know."

"So what now? I now have family, but I still have to spend the rest of my life with _you_, and let everyone still think I'm dead?"

"Let's say, you told your brother that you were alive. I saved your life by making you _exactly_ like me. How do you think he will react?"

Claire's headache was getting stronger as she rubbed her temples again. "I don't know…"

"He would most likely pin the accident on me, think I planned for you to die and obviously yell out that there would have been another way to save you."

"But there wasn't! I don't even know how I survived."

"Somehow you did, long enough for me to reach you, and get back to my base."

Her head was being held up by her hands; elbows propped on her knees. "I want Chris and Jill to know I'm alive."

"You have no choice right now. I do not want to bother with your brother at this time. If he comes for me, he will just die"

"Hmm." She pondered, and then looked into his eyes. "What if I make you a deal?"

"A deal? What do you have in mind?"

"I get to tell my best friend and family, the people I trust the most that I'm infected and that I'm…living in your 'house'. If they make any plans, to kill you, or let out the information, I will kill them myself."

Weskers' eyes only searched hers for any fault, he himself couldn't believe it.

Claire couldn't believe she would even say something like that. But if there's a tiny chance to have just a little bit of her past life back, she'll take it.

"Well?" she asked him impatiently. She saw him raise his hand and touch her forehead, she didn't know why. Then looking at his hand as he retracted it, she saw blood on it. _His blood._ She had forgotten what she did to his nose with her head.

"Are you sure you can handle your promise?"

"I would not have made it if I couldn't."

"Then I accept." She squeaked, eyes going wide as her smile. In a second, she leaned giving him a peck on the cheek and a tight hug.

He felt her face in his neck, and heard the whisper she let out,

"Thank you, _Albert._"

* * *

><p>Did you like the chapter? Review?<p>

**To people who are wating for next chapter of my other story! I'm sick and I think next chapter should be max on Tuesday ! Sorry for wating that long!**


	8. Through this all, I'm happy

**Chapter Seven: Through this all, I'm happy**

**Edited by : Naoko Suki**

**Thank you for all reviews! Remember to leave one here too! ^^**

* * *

><p>Claire stood and leaned on the frame of Wesker's lab door. "Are you hungry?"<p>

He knew she was there, but didn't turn to reply, "You made food again?"

"What, is it that bad for me to do?"

"I suppose after what you've been through today its normal."

Claire sighed and repeated, "So, are you hungry?"

He finally spun around in his chair and faced her. "No, I'm not." He watched her body straighten up off the frame and put her hands on her hips.

"Can't you at least come and sit with me?"

His lip curled upwards, "I thought Redfield's didn't like my presence."

She smirked back at him, "You're better than having no-one. I'm used to eating around people like I did at work."

"So, you're saying you'd eat lunch, and right after you did incisions for surgery? What a stomach of steel."

Claire huffed and crossed her arms. "I was an assistant to neurosurgeons after any meal, I'm not that stupid. Are you coming?"

"In a minute." Wesker replied, hearing Claire walk away with his answer.

Turning back to his work, he wondered. Was she really the same person she was before the accident? She knows what has transpired between them, and more importantly, what's happened between himself and her brother. She should loathe and despise him; try to _kill_ him. But she is talking to him, and offering food? He did prefer that she wasn't fighting him, or he may take it too far. The virus worked with her, and the chance of that happening so well was such a rare one that it would be a waste to end her. He stopped typing and closed the laptop, heading out towards the kitchen.

Claire sat at the table, shifting and eating food from her plate with chopsticks. He sat next to her and they caught each other's eyes. A long moment passed but she broke the silence with a snort followed by a burst of laughter.

"Stop looking at me like that!" she said betweens breaths of laughter.

Wesker froze, but it was not shown. "Like what, dear heart?"

"Like I'm some sort of ghost sitting in your kitchen!"

"From what I recall, you told me it was _your_ kitchen."

She smiled smugly, pointing her utensils at him. "You're right!" then picked up another piece of her food.

"What is it you have?" Wesker asked, his head nodding towards the plate.

"It's just rice with apples. Wanna try?" She offered and he didn't reply, just moved closer to her. She took it as a yes and fed him a piece of it. He finished the mouthful and moved back to his previous spot. "Well?" She asked him impatiently.

"It is good. Have you remembered now who taught you to cook?"

Claire's eyes lit up. She remembered now. "I learned by myself. After 3 years and no vacation, I finally took one, and decided to learn by myself using those 'How to Cook' books."

The table went quiet as Wesker just sat and she played with her food, not hungry anymore.

"Have you decided as to how you'll be informing Chris?" The silence broke, and Claire looked at Wesker, surprised he brought up her brother.

"N..No. I have no idea where to start. I kind of have an idea, but I don't know how."

"Just go to his residence and tell them?"

"No I-" she paused, "It has to be just Chris first. I don't want Jill or anyone else to know. Chris can decide if he wants a few others to know the truth." She stood slowly, the loud screech of her chair echoed around the room.

"I see, what are you planning on doing now?" He looked up at her, but she kept her eyes on the doorway.

"Just going to my room, I have a bit to think about. I'm also not that tired, that's normal, right?"

Wesker nodded, and she left the room. He looked down and noticed Claire's plate was barely even touched.

* * *

><p>Later on when Wesker was back in his office working, he finally heard Claire stir from her bedroom and make her way to his labs door, hearing the soft patting of a knock.<p>

She walked inside, and looked as if she didn't know if she should have been there that late. Wesker only turned to her when she entered.

"I wanted to ask a few questions."

"Take a seat." He stated, pointing to the metal chair near his desk. Claire complied.

"So wait, you'll really answer me?" She asked, but Wesker gave her an annoyed look. "Okay! So, Chris told me you had died, _killed_ by him. How the hell did you survive?"

Wesker leaned further back in his chair and spoke, "To be honest, I haven't found out that answer. When I had awakened, I was still close to the volcano. Uroboros wasn't present in my system anymore. As if I was removed from the lava with its assistance, then in turn it had emancipated from my body. I had barely managed to escape, body almost destroyed, but my other viruses healed me all with intensive care within a few weeks." He stated with a stern voice.

"I think I understand." She replied, then quietly continued, "Would you be able to tell me what happened with Steve?"

"Mr. Burnside died and shortly after I had a blood sample taken from him." He looked into her yes, knowing she wanted the truth. He did not lie.

"Are you going to be working all night again?"

"Is it a problem?"

"No! Sorry, you can get back to work." She stared and turned her head, "…Goodnight." She quickly left the room entering her own, leaving Wesker to sit alone.

It was just after 11pm, not even forty minutes since she left that he heard her yell from her bedroom. Her footsteps thumped across the floor and back into the kitchen. _Eating again? She didn't even finish earlier._ He stood up from his chair and walked to the kitchen. It was dark, but he should still see Claire sitting on the floor with her legs crossed.

She saw him stare at her, "What-" They both said in unison.

"-are you doing here?" Wesker continued.

She glared up at him and crossed her arms. "What's it look like? I'm sitting on the floor!"

He kept telling himself to have patience, "I can see that, but why there when you could have chosen a chair?"

"I just can't think! I really don't know how to tell Chris! I don't know how he'll react! I don't even know if I want to tell Leon either, because I know he'll tell Ada and- You know I can't fucking stand her!" Her hands raised and her fingers massaged her temples. "God, my head hurts. I want to sleep but I can't. I tried to take a break and eat, but I'm not hungry either!" She took a deep breath, and paused looking at Wesker, telling that he seemed a bit stumped as to what to say. "You know what, I'm sorry I threw this at you. Just forget about it. I'm just gonna go back to my room." She stood up quickly, and walked past him. She stopped when a grip on her wrist pulled her back a bit.

"Albert, what are you doing, just let me leave." She stated, not really in the mood to fight.

"I think I need a break as well." He whispered, then gently pushed her back against a wall and kissed her.

Claire paused, but for only a moment, not sure what to do, or _think_. Yet she was compelled to kiss him back, only adding to the intensity. She felt one of Wesker's hands trace across from her wrist to her thigh, and the other one raised up to cradle her neck. Her own hand wandered up to his glasses, removing them slowly until they dropped from her fingertips to the floor. But when the glasses hit the floor, the noise made her eyes widen in realization. She broke the kiss and held him back a bit with her palm.

"W...Wait Albert, I can't so this…"

"Yes you can, dear heart." He purred that nickname of hers, and the rumble of it shook her insides. He took it as an opportunity to kiss her once more and lift her into his arms; all the while walking back into Claire's bedroom.

* * *

><p><strong>-Next day, Central Park-<strong>

_Come on, just do it…_

Claire had awoken early, and had jet from the house before 9am. It was 11 now, and as she sat on the bench, she still hadn't had the guts to call Chris. That was until she spotted two young boys walking together down a path.

"Hey! You kids!" She shouted, using her hand to wave them in. They looked to her and sped up their walk to the bench.

"You talking to us, Miss?"

"Sure am!" She beamed, trying not to look crazy. "Wanna earn some quick money?" The boy's looked to each other and nodded. Claire patted the spot next to her and they both sat down. "I'll give you two fifty dollars if you can make a call for me, and read out what I have written." She showed them the piece of paper. "Deal?"

"All I gotta do is read this? Ha! Deal!" one of the boys replied, with a nice cheeky grin. Claire dialed Chris' number and handed the phone to them.

"Did you want me to put it on speaker?"

"No, I can hear it just fine. Go ahead." She ushered him to continue, and after 4 rings, she heard the voice she missed so much,

"Hello?" Claire almost jumped from her seat at his greeting.

"Hello sir. Please listen to me carefully. There is a young lady who wishes to meet with you. It is very important, and she is willing to give you information." The boy said. _Man, he sounds like a professional. Kids are watching too much TV._ Claire thought.

"Information? About what?" She could hear his voice on the other line become stiff.

"About your sister." No reply came, only silence. "Sir?"

"When and where do I meet her?"

"Twelve AM today at the Cemetery; Right at the entrance. It's important for you to be alone and to not tell anyone else."

"That's fine, I will be there. What does this woman look like?"

The boy paused and looked towards Claire and repeated what he saw, "She has blonde hair, shades and a red coat. You can't miss her."

"Okay." Was the only word said before Claire could pick up on the dial tone sound. He had hung up, most likely in a hurry.

The boy handed the phone back to Claire, and handed the 50 dollar bill to him. She said thank you and kissed his forehead before running towards a taxi.

_There's no turning back now…_

Her mind was working like crazy, trying to think of the best thing to say. She paid the driver once he told her they arrived at the cemetery and stepped out of the car. Looking towards the entrance, she saw a man sitting on the bench Wesker had found her only days ago. She could have cried at the sight, but it took almost everything in her to hold it back and not run into his arms.

"Chris…" she whispered to herself, but the man caught wind of her presence and looked towards her.

"You called me out here?" he asked, his voice cold and stern. _This is what my death has done to him?_ She walked a bit closer and stood a few feet in front of him. She was lucky she was wearing her glasses still.

"So tell me what you know about my sister?" _No names, straight to the point. Same old Chris._

Claire put on a faint smile and answered, "I know that your sister isn't dead." She watched him as his eyes went wide, and he jumped up to a standing position.

"How do you know that?"

"Because, if it isn't me," She peeled off her wig and sunglasses, "then who is standing next to you?" Her smile went even wider, and Chris could not stop staring, shaking as if it were not real at all.

"Claire? Is it really you?" He reached his arm out slowly, and Claire nodded. "Oh my God. Claire! Y…you're standing right here! You're alive!" He quickly closed the gap between them, grabbing her in a powerful bear hug. "Oh my GOD Claire, I thought…I thought I had lost you forever! How did you-" he was cut off when Claire began to talk.

"Chris, there's something I need to tell you, I really need you to listen to me. You may not like it, but please listen to the end, and don't jump to any conclusions, okay?"

Chris gave her one big squeeze, not being able to contain his emotions. "Whatever you want Claire!" he said cheerfully, wiping a small tear that had rolled down his cheek.

"Promise?"

"Promise, Claire." He led her back to the bench and they both sat.

"First, I want to know if they told you how serious my accident was."

"Yeah they did they…told me no person could have ever survived it. But you did!" Chris couldn't stop smiling.

"No Chris, I… I didn't survive. I'm _dead_."

"What are you-"

"Chris, I know you're not going to believe this, but when I had my accident, Wesker found my body."

"Wesker is ALIVE? What are-" Chris yelled.

"Shut up and listen! His employer was with him and told him to do so. There was too much damage to be saved. I was dying, and there was nothing they could do, _normally_." She held her hand up when she saw Chris was trying to talk, and continued. "Wesker injected me, saving my life with the viruses he has. I died and came back to life. I had amnesia though; I just got my memory back recently."

"Wait, he infected you? That son-of-a-BITCH." Chris shot up from the seat and tried to take a step forward until one of Claire's arms grabbed and pulled him back to the bench, making a loud thump noise. _Oh, that was probably a bit too hard…_

"CHRIS! I told you to keep fucking calm and listen! I made a deal with him. I was able to come out here to tell you and the others if you leave Wesker alone! He saved my life. I'm not asking you to thank him, just fucking leave him alone! If you try, I have to keep my end and kill you myself!"

Chris' eyes strained to stay focused on Claire's face. "That fucker made you…"

"No! I was the one who proposed the deal. I knew I could trust at least you. I'm dead Chris. I can't come back to life to the world. That's why I wear this stupid shit." She says as she points to the wig and glasses. "I wanted to have something from my life back. I want to keep in contact with you. To still be a part of your life…If you'll let me." She looked downwards and buried her face into her hands, crying.

Chris didn't waste a minute and pulled her into a side hug.

"Claire, I'm so glad you're safe, you have no idea how much I am. But it's hard to…think your _dead_ sister is living with our greatest enemy as if you're friends."

"Do you want me to be a part of your life? This is why I only told you and not Jill. I want you to decide. I'll tell you everything that's happened this past month, and give you time to think."

"O...Okay, please tell me everything." Chris didn't let go of Claire, and she began to speak. She had almost finished telling him everything until she got to a certain part.

"-At the party, Sherry told us about her being engaged. Then I remembered Joe, and the fact he was cheating on me with Jane." Claire's brows furrowed, "He was the cause of the accident. His headlights weren't on, it was dark and raining… Anyways I… got really drunk at the party and Wesker took me home. I went all girl-venting on him and I just went to my room and he followed me and…" She looked to Chris, who seemed like he didn't understand where it was going. She took a deep breath and continued. "I want you to know the truth, so….I slept with him, Chris."

His eye twitched, and his face turned into a glare. "You did what? How…! Claire how could you! Do you know how much that hurts to hear that? That you SLEPT with him? Please let this be a mistake, this happened before you got your memory back, right?" His voice screamed for some kind of hope. Claire replied just a bit louder than a whisper.

"Both."

"I'm going to kill that shithead!" Chris stood again, but Claire pulled him back down.

"Calm down! It was my fault too; I wasn't really stopping him…"

"Claire, do you hate him?" his question surprised her and she looked away. "Answer me!"

"No!" She looked into his eyes. "I don't hate him.. I just can't Chris. When I didn't know who he was, I liked him a lot. Even now, I still kind of do, all the feelings stayed with me." Her brother's eyes looked hurt. "That's why I want to tell only you. I need you to think about it. If you want me in your life again, please tell me. If you try to get me to leave or follow your plans, we can't make it work. It's all your choice." Claire stood up, and affixed her wig back onto her head, and put her shades back on. "You only have until tomorrow to decide…" She looked back at him, "Call the number that the boy called you with earlier, it's mine. Please let me know." She smiled to her brother, hoping that he knew she will be fine. "Talk to ya later!"

Before Chris could even say something, Claire was already out of sight. He stood again and rubbed the side of his head in complete distraught. _God, what do I do?_ He sighed, and began to walk to his car.

* * *

><p><strong>-An hour later-<strong>

"Dear heart, where are you?" a voice asked from the other end of the line.

"In some pizzeria I found." She said, still chewing a piece of pizza in her mouth.

"Eating? You know you don't have to-"

"Go to hell. It tastes good, and I don't have to keep my diet. It's not like I'm going to die of high cholesterol or anything."

"Definitely not." Wesker grunted, "Were you able to speak with your brother?"

"Yeah, I finally met him and told him everything. I gave him until tomorrow to decide."

"You told him _everything?_" He replied, his voice giving a seductive tone.

"Yes, everything." She spat, annoyed at his attempt to make her mad.

"When do you plan to be back?"

"What, do you miss me already?" she mocked, "I'll finish my food and then I'll head back."

"Goodbye then, De-"

"Holy shit! Albert!" She turned in her seat and harshly whispered into the phone. "You have no idea who just walked into this place!"

"Enlighten me."

"It's Joe. Oh my god I swear I-"

"Try not to start anything; we don't want any accidents. I'll be there soon."

"Okay wait I'm at-" Claire's eyes widened, "Wait, there's tracking in the phone, isn't there?"

"Correct. Just sit and wait."

The line went dead, but she still spoke, "I'll try." She ate another slice until she noticed Joe was looking at her, wearing the smirk on his face she knew all too well. Her eye contact with him must have given him the will to walk to her table and sit beside her with his drink. _Are you fucking kidding me? He's going to flirt with me?_

"Hey there, are ya alone?" Claire's eyes twitched at the sound of his voice.

"Are you blind or something?" she hissed with a disgusted face.

"Easy girl, I just wanted to keep you company."

"Shut up, I just want to eat."

"Hey!" She noticed he was looking at her plate. "A friend of mine likes this pizza too." Nothing weird to her; It was Claire's favorite. "But she died like a month ago."

"Were you close?" She asked, hoping he would give some sign of apology.

"No not really. She was just someone I knew."

Claire's fists ached to slam him across the face, but she knew she needed to keep her patience.

"Are you free tonight?" He coolly asked, unashamed. _That's it._ Claire looked around and noticed the man behind the counter had walked out of sight, and there were no other patrons.

She punched him, square in the cheek with a right hook. His head snapped and he fell to the floor along with his chair. Claire stood up and screamed,

"Oh my GOD. Help me! This man grabbed me!" Immediately, two of the store owners ran out and assessed the situation. One of them hauled Joe up off the floor, holding his arms behind his back. "He tried to pull me to the bathroom! He was..." Claire burst into fake sobs, and the owner offered to call the police. Just then, Wesker walked into the restaurant.

He looked to the struggling younger man being held, and then to Claire being comforted by the restaurant owner. Claire pointed to him and said to the man, "I'm okay, he's here for me."

Wesker walked up to them and asked, "What happened here?"

"Your girlfriend was groped by this little brat here and he tried to drag her to one of the rooms alone. She definitely defended herself though, got some great chords there. What a punch she must have delivered." The owner replied, seemingly glad he could help.

Claire ran up to Wesker, and hugged him tightly. "Oh Albert, I was so scared." She said into his chest. He only smirked and hugged her back.

"Do you want to call the police?" The man holding the struggling Joe asked.

Claire sniffed, "No It's okay, I'm just glad you came when you did. I'm safe now; you can just let him go."

The two nodded and held onto the now yelling man in their grasps, waiting for her to leave.

"Let's go home." Wesker said softly, taking her hand in his. They walked outside and got into Wesker's car parked just outside. During the ride home, he spoke up.

"What a nice show, what really happened?" His lip curled in delight.

Claire jumped and spun in her seat, giving a glare as she explained. "He was flirting with me! I died only a few weeks ago, and he's already flirting with other women? He's even over Jane, the one he left me for? I tried to hold my tongue, but when he asked me out, and he talked about 'me' I couldn't hold back! God, what did I see in him? He's just another fucking son-of-a-bitch!"

Wesker's smirk grew larger. "Well I'm glad you held back enough not to kill him."

"He's not even worth it."

"What do you think your brother will do?"

"I don't know. After all that I told him, he's got a lot to think about."

"I still can't believe you told him about-"

"Shut up!" She pouted, crossing her arms and looking out her window. Wesker just chuckled and looked back to the road from the blushing Claire.

* * *

><p>All that night, Claire watched movies and indulged herself in a cake she baked for herself. Sure she didn't have to eat, but for the taste she couldn't resist eating all these foods. She cried during some of the movies; older films mixed with some theatre ones. Last one she watched was some movie called 'Anger Management', and she was sure she needed to learn to control herself. The events that happened earlier should not have happened at all. She fell asleep on the couch soon after the credits rolled, and around 4 in the morning, she was carried into her bed to sleep.<p>

She awoke in the late morning, the only thoughts running through her mind was 'if' Chris would call. She greeted Wesker and tried to bury herself in a book. Her body couldn't sit still, but a few hours passed, and the reaction of picking up the phone was instantaneous.

"Hello?" She almost shouted with her excitement. The other line was quiet for a second, until a cough came though and she heard Chris' voice,

"Claire…"


	9. Like Old Times

**Chapter Eight: Like Old Times**

**Edited by: Naoko Suki**

* * *

><p>"Claire…" He went silent after saying her name.<p>

"Chris," she cleared her throat, her voice struggling to push out anything. "I suppose you have decided not-"

"Claire, I…need you to listen to me. It was not easy to understand everything you told me, everything you've done for so long. I had to think the good and bad things that would come to you being back in our lives, and the truth is," Claire held her breath at his statement, "that after spending a month trying to get over you being dead, over taking it out all on myself, I don't care anymore about the consequences. I doesn't matter to me where you've been or what…you've been doing. The only thing I really want right now is you as my sister. You may be infected, but you're still our Claire. The best little sister in the world, and I would never give up a chance to be your brother again."

Claire couldn't believe it, her eyes pushed closed hard, as tears squeezed their way out and down her cheeks. Her head shook softly as the biggest smile spread across her drenched face.

"Claire? Are you still there?" He asked worriedly, thinking she may have been refused the phone.

"Yeah I'm here I just…!" a sniffling could be heard from Claire's nose.

"Claire I gotta tell you something else too…"

"You already told Jill, right?" she heard him freeze up, hitting the nail on the head.

"If by talking you mean yelling and beating, then yeah, she t_alked_ with me a lot." Claire giggled and he heard it through the receiver. "God Claire I… I would have thought I would never hear you laugh again! Get your ass down here. We want to spend time with you, we need to talk, and we can even order pizza!"

"Oh Chris, that sounds great! I'll _try_ to be there in an hour or so, okay?"

"Okay!" She could definitely hear his smile, "We're waiting, See ya soon!"

"Bye!" Wesker heard her speak to her brother. Her phone went back on the hook, and the scream that pierced the hall made him wince. Everything must have gone through well with the older Redfield, a bit of disappointment went through his mind, but it dissipated when he knew it was going to turn out this way anyways. The loud thuds of Claire's footsteps running became louder as she approached his lab. His door swung open, her body along with it.

"Did you hear that Albert? Oh my God, he wants me back! They want to see me! Isn't that great?" Her short breaths escaped her smiling, gaping mouth.

"It's wonderful, dear heart." He stated with a straight face, eyes not leaving his laptop.

"So can I go see them?" he looked to her. _She's asking permission?_ "I mean, is it alright…with you?"

_She could have just left._ He thought to himself, surprised that she wouldn't have just run off any not spoken a word to him. Although it wasn't a problem since he would know where to find her instantly.

Wesker turned his head back to his computer, tilting his head slightly; "Yes, you may go." It was spoken hesitantly. "Don't forget your phone."

"Sure thing!" Claire beamed and closed the door. He heard her make a call for a taxi and go into her own room. It was only a short time until he heard the Taxi's horn, but Claire poked her head back into his lab, catching his attention once again. "Thank you, Albert." And she left after lingering only for a moment, making her way out the front door. He was beginning to like how she said his name, and the thought of it had kept his eyes looking towards his labs door where Claire just was, much longer than what he thought was only a half-second before finally turning back to his work.

* * *

><p><em>He wants to still be there for her!<em> Claire couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. She's been afraid that she'd be alone and without her family after what Albert had told her. Alongside her regular disguise, she just sported a white tee and black jeans, not forgetting her red trench coat. It had become her favorite along with her black boots. She almost jumped out of the taxi after paying the driver, then running up Chris' porch steps. She took a deep breath, and held her hand up to knock, only to be surprised by an already opening door with her dear brother standing behind the frame.

"Sis!" he yelled happily and grappled her with his signature bear hug. She remembered back when his hugs would have given her pain from him squeezing too hard, but now she didn't feel anything, so she just hugged him back.

"Ugh!" a little cry came from his lips, "Sis, A little softer!"

"I'm sorry!" _Maybe it was a bit too hard… _"I'm just so glad you accepted me…"

"You don't know what I would have done to him if he said no, Red."

"Jill!" Claire slowly walked past her brother and the two women hugged each other.

"I'm so happy you're alive…That you're really here!" Jill's tears were felt against Claire's ear. "I...I'm sorry for babbling, come inside!"

"Don't apologize, Jill!" She stepped inside her brothers' home and removed her jackets and boots, leaving her purse at the doorway. Chris' home was a simple one in the suburbs. She loved it; a regular family home. Two floors, first floor with the kitchen, living and dining room. Upstairs she remembered there were two bedrooms; theirs with an attached bath, and a guest room with a bathroom across from it. The warm colors the home was decorated with made her feel as if she were right at home. They all made their way to the plush dark couches to sit, and Claire proceeded to take off her wig and glasses, her regular red hair falling back into place. Chris and Jill only stared at her, her eyes standing out since they were green – the contacts she wore that Chris knew about – not the regular blue. The two knew of her red eyes, and had decided earlier not to comment on it to make things anything more difficult for Claire.

"Okay Claire," Chris broke the silence, "Important things first, then we can have fun, okay?" Claire nodded, not at all hurt from their previous silent stares at her. She knew they were only curious, naturally. "So you said I had to decide who else to tell and I've decided who I trust to know. My question is, who would you want to tell?"

"I don't want to let anyone know from my mouth, I trust you to make a good decision. But I need you to remember our deal."

Chris nodded to his sister, "But if you have anyone in mind you would _like_ to let know…" he asked nonchalantly, Claire kept silent so Chris began listing names.

"Becca and Billy, Barry…Carlos, Ferry-"

"Ferry? He knows nothing about what Wesker has done, let alone who he is!"

"Well, he has some knowledge, I spoke to him about it when I got drunk after that plane crash, remember?"

"Yeah, I had to come and take you home, like when you were in High School!"

Chris let out a triumphant 'ha' before Claire scratched the back of her head. "Yeah…"

"What about Leon?" Jill asked from the side. Claire just stared at her lap, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"I…don't really know about him, he's with Ada, and I'm afraid that in her line of work she'd tell someone about me and about the virus I carry."

"Well then, let's do it like this." Chris cut in, "I'll talk to Leon about your…return… and then you can tell him about the deal." he scratched his face then continued. "There's a chance he won't tell her at all, and if he does, he'll just tell the bitch to keep her mouth shut." Chris knew about how Leon had hurt his little sister, and how they both think the same of Ada. She was glad Chris was on her side, but she still talked to Leon as friends.

"That sounds okay to me." Claire smiled a little, "Oh, did you perhaps keep my dogs alive while I was gone?"

"No-well," Chris fixed his lines when Claire glared at him, "Jill took care of them. Fed them and walked them. You know Mundus hates me, trying to bite me every time he smells I'm near!"

"I'm sure Rosso would have protected you."

"Yeah right," Chris choked, "He's got the complete opposite type of torture; he'd lick me to death!" Both the girls laughed at him. "Are you taking them home –" He stopped himself, he didn't want to say 'home'. "- I meant, with you?"

"Yes, I miss them, and I bet they miss me!"

"They sure do. They only really like you. They tolerate Jill, but me? I can't go to your home alone!" Claire let out another laugh towards her brother, who crossed his arms in defeat.

"What are you going to do about Joe?" Jill asked, knowing what Chris had told her earlier about what he had done to Claire, but she was still curious.

"I'm done with him, Jill. But I can't say I wouldn't love to see his face if he saw me!"

"I would kill that asshole!" Claire's eyes widened from Jill's words, "Seriously Claire, he was not the man for you."

Claire looked at Chris' face, and saw its early stages of anger. She knew he didn't like hearing Claire with guys, especially if they treated her bad. She quickly changed the subject so Chris would come back down to earth.

"So! Are we ordering pizza or not? I'm hungry!" Even though it was a changed subject, it was true, she really was hungry. Wesker had told her she didn't need to eat as often as she did, but she didn't care to listen. _Screw that!_

"You're hungry? I would have thought you wouldn't need to eat because of your…" Claire just smirked and told Jill the same line Wesker had told her a month ago.

"I eat when I'm hungry, and I sleep when I'm tired." Claire smiled, "I know this may sound weird, but Wesker sleeps too, even more, he sleeps in! Not so abnormal, huh? But enough about him! Tell me," She sighed and stretched, lying back further on the couch. "What have you two been doing all this month?"

"Ah..Nothing really…Uhh." Chris shifted nervously in his seat.

"Oh. Nothing?" She caught onto his uneasiness and smiled a bit.

"Claire, I have to tell you!" Chris looked back and forth between her and Jill. "I'm sorry, I can't hold it. Sis, you're going to be an aunt!"

Claire's eyes widened and her mouth gawked open, pointing to Jill. Her eyes went straight to her stomach. "You're…pregnant?"

Jill only smiled at Claire, the action giving her the answer. Claire quickly stood up and made her way to hug her.

"Oh my God!" Claire gasped, "This is wonderful! Congratulations!"

"I'll go order that pizza, you two can chat it up." Chris stated before disappearing into the kitchen.

"So, now there's proof of Chris being a real man." Claire joked and Jill just laughed. "Have you chosen a name for your kid?"

"I was thinking Grace or Leah for a girl, and Matthew if it's a boy."

"Those names sound so beautiful… I'm so happy for you!"

"So Claire…" Jill clasped her hands together with a face of concern. "What about you? What have you been doing to keep yourself busy?"

"Me? Well I'm …living with Wesker. I try to keep my distance from him, but things have happened." Claire could sense how hard it was for Jill to talk about this.

"Yeah I know…Chris told me that you've even slept with him." Jill said, her teeth biting a small part of her bottom lip.

"Yeah, I did." Claire placed a hand on Jill's shoulder, causing her to look back into her eyes. "I'm thankful enough he allowed me to come back to visit. Thankful you two allowed me back as well."

"Well, enough about that!" Jill shook her head and smiled. "Claire, do you think you can still have children?"

She looked to Jill, her eyes wide. She'd never thought of it before. She'd always wanted a family, but her work was usually in the way, plus that whole thing with Joe completely _failed._ "I've never asked him about that. I don't think I could though, I'd think my virus would just kill any chance of it. But I do have baby names in mind; I've had them in my head for ages! I'd use my mother's name, Amelia, if it's a girl. If it's a boy then it'd be Nathan."

Jill smiled, "Those are wonderful names, Claire." She sighed, "God, I'm so sorry for sounding like a downer for the past few minutes. But you… you've always wanted to have a family and instead you live with Wesker, away from your family, and _dead_ to the rest of the world…"

"It's not too bad, " Claire reassured, "Wesker is mostly just in his lab, and I just do normal everyday things like read, watch TV or eat. I ask him a lot of questions, and so far he's answered almost all of them too."

"Oh so, it's not like you're constantly together. Do you share the same room?"

"Jill, he gave me my own room. I do get privacy!" Claire just smiled noticing that Jill seemed to calm down after properly explaining her situation.

"Okay ladies, the pizzas are coming!" A voice was shouted across the room, "I also ordered some cake and cookies. Oh, I got beer too!"

"I'm not drinking." Both girls said in unison, causing them to look at each other and laugh. "And we're not letting you get drunk either, Mr. Redfield." Claire scolded.

* * *

><p>In just under an hour, the pizzas were delivered and finished. They were snacking on some cookies while recalling stories from all their pasts. Although Chris' past seemed the most comical to talk about.<p>

"Hey Chris, remember the first time your sister visited the S.T.A.R.S office?" Jill stated, trying to hold back a laugh that was forming.

"Who DIDN'T remember that day? Ugh such a scary day…" Chris could only shudder in remembrance.

"Yeah…" Claire blushed, all of them recalling that day;

_Chris, like the rest of the S.T.A.R.S was finish up paperwork. He sighed as he was only down a few papers, and still had over 2 hours worth left of them. He lifted his head and looked behind him, Jill was leaning her head heavily against her perched hand. She looked just as bored as him. He could only groan, praying for some sort of accident to get him out of doing this. The silence of the room was cut by a knock. Chris was startled not by the noise, but the fact he just wished for an interruption. Everyone sighed in happiness for this break in dreary work. Rebecca shouted, 'Come in!' and the door slowly creaked open, letting a young woman walk inside, dressed in a navy blue t-shirt, red vest and grey jeans; boots were just a bit darker than her pants. And her red colored hair sat at the back of her head in a ponytail. A light blush was on her cheeks, but Chris looked at her and instantly grinned._

"_Claire! Oh it's so awesome you came to visit me! Come here sis!"_

"_Uhm, yeah, awesome…!" She replied, looked up and away from her brother. She walked to his desk and sat on a chair next to him._

"_So why are you here? Not that I'm not happy to see you but…"_

"_I just wanted to see you! And well…"_

"_Claire, what's wrong?" She only laughed nervously to his question._

"_You're here and I know you can see my paperwork. Yet I don't hear the regular insults like calling me 'lazy' or a 'moron'. You're being odd, being too nice to me." Chris began to understand, his eyes now glaring in question to Claire. "What did you do?"_

"_N-Nothing…"_

"_Claire…" his voice coming out in a growl._

"_Chris I'm not-" She looked into his eyes, the determination was definitely not going away. She knew she had to tell him, that's why she was here. Looking down at her feet, her hand pulled out an enveloped from her vest, handing it over to Chris. He took it from her and looked at it before opening it. Claire only watched his face gape in surprise while he read the letter. The more he read, the wider his eyes got. Finally, his eyes met hers. His voice came out stern, a low growl, but loud enough for everyone to hear._

"_What the fuck, Claire?" Claire's face went even redder as everyone looked to them._

"_Let me explain-"_

"_Explain what? You fought. With A. Football. Player."_

"_He started it!"_

"_I don't care Claire! This guy's bigger than Richard!"_

"_But-"_

"_No 'but's'! The parents of the guy want to see us in court! He probably had a scholarship and now they'll have to make sure he's okay. Ugh! Did you want it to be more difficult for you to be able to stay with me?"_

"_No! I was just defending myself. I used the things you taught me!" Claire slammed her fist on the desk and stood up._

"_I taught you that if someone tried to attack or rape you or some shit! Not to fight with Godzilla at school, especially where everyone would see you!" Chris stood as well, facing her sister._

"_Guys-" Barry tired to cut in, but he was shouted at with a 'Shut up!' from both of them._

"_You are so stubborn! I can't tell you a damned thing because all you ever do is yell at me!"_

"_Tell me what? Everything is written here! We have to go to court on the 29__th__ next month. I can't believe you'd be so irresponsible!"_

_Claire's eyes widened. She felt very hurt from her brother one-sided accusations. She nodded and turned, making her way for the door, mumbling a sentence before she left,_

"_If you don't care, then I won't care anymore about what people are saying about us."_

"_What?" Chris cut in, making Claire turn around. "What are they saying?" His voice still held anger, but it was directed somewhere else._

_Claire glared at her now listening brother. "That I'm some sort of orphan; that you only keep me around because the state pays you to. He called me a whore, and said that our parents killed themselves because of me. I couldn't take it anymore." Her eyes began to water. "I was defending your name, but I guess I was wrong."_

"_Cl-Sis, wait. How bad did you hurt him?"_

"_I was only able to break his nose and a few fingers. I gave him a little bruise under his eye too…"_

"_That isn't enough; I'm going to kill him!" Chris rushed to the door, but Claire blocked the way, pulling him into a hug._

"_Chris don't do anything, they're already mocking me because of your job, saying I'm hiding behind you. I don't want that. I can handle this on my own. So go back to your desk, and finish your paperwork, you lazy ass!" She laughed and kissed his cheek before turning back to leave._

"_Claire, I'll will talk to some people, so don't worry about having to go to court."_

"_Thanks bro." She almost left, but turned back and said "It was nice to see you all!" she waved, and finally left, closing the door behind her._

"_That is your sweet little sister Chris? I bet she could kick Billy's ass!" joked Joseph._

"_Yeah, and she's got quite the temper too." Jill added._

"_-And she's hot." Billy said, adding on with Joseph, "Perfect girl."_

"_And I'll make sure none of you lay a finger on her." Chris glared at them. They were just making fun of him because of how over protective he was but he didn't care. He had to protect his sister, any way he could._

"That was the first time I ever saw you two argue!" an amused faced Jill spoke.

"I felt bad for Barry; he's never seen me that angry before. I'm sure he was scared to death!" Claire laughed.

"That was nothing; don't you remember the other incident?"

_Chris had been nervous all day, jumping at any semi-loud noise, often checking the offices door and his phone. Most of his comrades noticed his clammed up mouth, and Joseph couldn't take the silence anymore._

"_Redfield, what the hell is wrong with you today?"_

_Chris jumped and looked straight to him, his forehead in a bit of a sweat. "I think I'm going to be murdered today."_

"_What the hell are you talking about? By who?"_

"_The devil in red." He shook, his eyes portraying how serious he is._

"_Man, I'm tellin'ya, you drink too much."_

_It was just under an hour later, the offices' door swung open, and a woman wearing a black tee, jeans and boots barged in. Of course, her red vest was dressed upon her torso. _'The Devil in Red'_ nickname was correct. Her eyes were furious as she stalked to Chris' desk. Her hair was down and unkempt as if it were dancing like a flame with her anger. Chris gulped and stood at her arrival._

"_Oh h-hey Claire bear, what are you doing here?" He asked with a goofy grin._

"_Christopher. Jonathan. Redfield. Are you sure you don't know why I'm here?" Each word of hers was perfectly punctuated._

"_N-No I have no idea…" He replied, but saw his sister's jaw clench. She walked to his side of the desk and grabbed him by the ear._

"_Then I will show you why!" She held tight onto his ear as she dragged him to the window, his face now pushed up against it._

"_Now tell me, do you see my bike down there?" The tip of her finger rested on the glass, pointing outside._

"_Uhm, no…"_

"_Harley Davidson. Limited edition. __**Red.**__ Not easy to miss."_

"_Oh yeah…heh…I can see it now" His voice still shook._

"_Alright, now did you ride her yesterday?"_

"_No…" she pushed his face into the window a little harder. "I-I mean a little!"_

"_So now tell me, where the FUCK is my LEFT MIRROR?" After yelling this, the rest of the team stood up and walked to other windows seeing the Motorcycle parked in a parking spot, and like Claire said, it was missing the mirror. Claire then turned Chris to face her, and she placed her hands around his neck._

"_I am going to CHOKE you!" She grasped at his throat, but Chris' hands were able to hold her wrists away just enough for her not to cause any damage._

"_Claire –ugh... calm down!"_

"_It took me forever to save up for it! You are going to pay the highest price, Redfield!" Claire kept at it, trying to push past Chris' arm strength holding her back; rage filled her eyes._

"_Clai-re.." Chris spoke between a breath, but someone circled an arm around Claire's waist and pulled her back. She looked back for only a moment to see it was their Captain._

"_Ugh! Let me go!" the holder of her said nothing, and didn't lift up on his grip on her._

"_Run Redfield!" Billy yelled, but Claire only scoffed._

"_You think that will stop me? He has to come home some time!"_

"_Claire I was riding to the store," Chris took some needed breaths, "-and some asshole cut me off. I had to turn, but it was too quick, and the mirror contacted with the road." Claire's eyes went wider, and she still struggled to get out of the Captains grip._

"_Let me go you blond jerk! You can run Christopher, but I will find you." Then added very darkly, "-and rip your eyes out!"_

"_I thought you wouldn't use your bike today, and I was going to take it in before you noticed to fix it. Please calm down! Jeeze!"_

"_I am fucking calm!"_

"_Miss Redfield, I suggest you-" the blond had cut in._

"_Don't even…!" she warned, but took a deep breath. "Where's the mirror?" the room was silent and still as they watched Chris walk back to his desk and pull the mirror out from his drawer, holding it up for her to see._

"_The mirror… I can't believe it came right off…I can't afford-"_

"_Yeah Claire, I'm sorry. I'll buy you a brand new one, and I'll never touch your bike again. But please calm down!"_

"_You'll pay for the new one?"_

"_Yes! And I'll even pay for your gas for a few months!"_

"_Can I let you go now, Miss Redfield?" Captain Wesker asked, although he already knew she had calmed down enough for it to be safe._

"_Yeah…" Claire was freed and she took the mirror from her brothers' hands. "Can you try to get it to the shop by today?"_

"_Yes, I will do it all Claire; now go I have a lot of work to do."_

"_Okay, but remember, I can always change my mind and kill you." She huffed, letting her anger disappear completely. She did feel a little foolish for acting out so horribly. "Lend me your keys and I'll pick you up later." Chris complied, and she quietly turned and left._

"_God, I wish she could be mine. What other girl rides a classic bike like that?" Joseph sighed, his arms resting behind his head._

"_Shut up. She only cares about me and her bike, no one else."_

"_Poor Chris, how horrible it is to be on the same level as a motorcycle!" Jill added, and the entire S.T.A.R.S team laughed._

"God Claire, you were really scary then, I don't think you realize how mad you were!" Jill's face was still a bit shocked from the memory.

"I thought she was really going to kill me!"

"I wanted to, but you were lucky…" Claire winked to her brother, and then heard her phone ring from her pocket.

"Hello?" She said, knowing who it was already on the other side of the line.

"When do you plan on being home, dear heart?"

"I don't know uh" She moved the phone away from her mouth, "Chris, what time is it?" Her brother with a worried look pointed to the clock, it showed 10:05PM. _Already?_ She moved the phone back to her mouth so she could speak. "Hmm, I'm not too sure the exact time…"

Wesker sighed. He was a little impatient with her, but he didn't show it. "You might as well stay the night then."

"Really? That's awesome!" Claire smiled into the phone, "I also have a favor to ask then."

Her confirmation to continue was a small noise from his end, "Could you maybe come and get me at my old apartment? I kind of want to pick up a few things from there." She looked to Chris, "My brother has been kind enough to keep paying my rent even though I wasn't really around…" Her smile towards him was thankful and sincere. "Probably around noon should be good."

"That is fine. Have a pleasant evening."

"Thank you, goodnight!" She then hung up and looked to Chris, who still wore a weary expression on his face.

"What did _he_ want?"

"Just asking when I'll be back, don't get too worried!"

"And?"

"And I can stay for the night! I'm so happy! So let's order more pizza; I've seriously got an endless amount of room in my tummy! I _dare_ you to eat as much as me!" Chris only laughed at her sisters outburst, glad that she was finally able to spend time with them all again.

Chris lifted his chest into the air, imitating the stature of a superhero. "Okay! You're on!"

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><p>So, just to be clear, I had plot for this story like month ago, so I'm not copying anyone! ;)<p>

Now, would you like to review?


	10. Call me

**Chapter 9: Call Me**

**Edited by: Naoko Suki**

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><p>Chris yawned as he walked down the stairs. His arms stretched up into the air as he made his way to the kitchen, but stopped to look at his sister still sleeping on their couch. She was on her back, her hands kept behind her head as she breathed slowly. She looked so normal to him.<p>

_Chris, she is normal. She's still Claire._

He walked up to her, and a small white box sitting on the coffee table in front of Claire's sleeping body caught his attention. Looking inside he saw it was contact lenses. _So, she took them off?_ He snapped the case shut, and laid a blanket over her body before finally making it to the kitchen. He waited for the water to boil while looking at the calendar. It was the 4th of December. Twenty days until Christmas; 2011 was almost over. He was happy he'd already gotten the greatest and only gift he'd ever need for Christmas. His sister was back and there was no way she'd be dying again anytime soon.

The whistle of the water boiling pulled him away from the calendar, pouring it into three mugs for the coffee. He sat down at the kitchen table and braced his head with his hand on the tabletop. He'd already finished his cup, but he waited for any kind of activity to happen.

As if his prayers were answered, Jill showed herself into the kitchen, and Chris chuckled at her messy state of hair.

"Morning," Jill spoke. She yawned, breathing in the aroma of Chris' wonderful instant coffee.

"Good morning beautiful," Chris smiled and handed Jill her mug that he brewed, her hand accepting the warm gift.

"Beautiful my ass," she disagreed. "You've seen Claire yet? I think she's still sleeping."

"I know, I saw her this morning. She also took off her contacts, so…be prepared."

Jill nodded, knowing to tread carefully on the subject. She leaned against the kitchen's island, and the two spoke for a short while until they heard the rustling and footsteps of Claire from the living room. She walked in, her hair just as messy as Jill's was.

Rubbing her eyes, she made her way to the table and sat in the chair next to Chris. A cup was handed to her, and she drank the semi-warm liquid without a word.

"You look like shit, Claire," Chris pointed out, trying to be the brother like he was before.

"Who wouldn't? After everything we ate last night, I'm surprised I didn't explode. I've never felt so sick and full before," Claire groaned and rubbed her stomach softly.

Chris was finally able to take notice of Claire's eyes, as he watched her take small sips of the coffee. They were as red as apples. He continued staring until she slammed the mug down, covering her mouth with one of her palms before running off out of the kitchen.

Jill looked to and from the direction she went and at Chris. It wasn't until literally 3 seconds later that they heard her heave contents into the bathroom just up the stairs. Chris was held back by Jill, being told she was just sick from last night; to let her be.

Claire returned after a few minutes, still holding her stomach.

"You okay sis?" Chris asked, worried for his sister.

"Yeah I'm thinkin' I just ate too much. And the coffee was the icing on the cake. Ugh."

Claire blinked at them both, looking at her without a word on their lips.

"Ah… oh. I 'm sorry, it's uncomfortable to sleep with them on. I'll just go," she pointed to the living room, "…Put them back on." She made her way to the living room, grabbing the contacts case and clenching them in her fist.

"Hey Jill, could I borrow your hairbrush?" Claire asked, and received an allowance from Jill. She went upstairs to the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror. _Maybe I do look a bit weird. _ She brushed her hair; fixing it back into her regular ponytail and then applied each contact back onto her eyes before returning downstairs.

She barely walked into the living room, where Chris and Jill sat watching TV, before she smelled the cooked food in the air that they were eating. Claire gagged, and ran all the way back up the stairs to the bathroom again. Not much came out, and a lot of dry heaving occurred after the first bout. _What the hell man, ugh!_

After returning again and taking a seat next to her brother, they watched TV and chatted for a bit with each other. They asked Claire what she'd be doing for Christmas or New Years, and her reply was plain, stating that she wasn't sure. She really didn't know, she'd have thought that Chris didn't want her back in the first place, and she was prepared to live her life in solitude.

Their talking and stories came to an end when Claire took a glance at the clock, reading 11:33 AM.

"Do you, really have to go?" Chris whined, a smile still on his face from the joke that was just told.

"Yeah," Claire smiled. "But I promise to visit very soon!"

Chris hugged her in a bear hug, earning an 'oof' sound from the younger Redfield.

"You better," He said as Claire affixed her disguise on her body once more. "Be careful sis."

"Got it!" She winked, and kissed her brothers cheek before sliding on her sunglasses.

She heard the door lock a bit behind her as she walked down the sidewalk. Making her way to a main road, she was able to flag down a taxi, to take her to her apartment. Her old place was about a block away from her old workplace. All her old workmates lived in the same tower. The feeling hit her heart once more, missing her friends and her work was a hard thing to live with for the rest of her life. She was out of it enough that it took a second for her to hear the driver announce they arrived. Paying the driver, she stepped out of the vehicle. The cold air that blew over her face was accepted, as it woke her right up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling light droplets hit her face. For some reason, in that instance snow began to fall upon New York. Claire smiled as she looked to the sky, feeling like a little girl again.

Claire's step felt a bit lighter as she made her way to the door of her building, to be greeted by the man standing by the doors. _Martin,_ she remembered. She waved and said a curt 'hello' before she made her way around to the elevator's corridor. When she turned the corner, her eyes widened at the sight of a group of people. They were her friends. They were a bit ahead of her, and they hadn't seemed to notice her, not that it was abnormal. She really didn't look like her regular self. A hand was placed on her shoulder which caused her to jump and turn. _Man, why didn't I hear him come up?_

"Your colleagues, I presume?" Wesker spoke softly, looking towards the group.

"Yeah," Claire's breath came out in a sigh.

"Stairs then?"

"No it's…okay," Claire said, and walked forward towards the crowd. Wesker followed behind, and they all went into the elevator when it arrived.

Even with the now 10 people in it, it was still a big elevator; a lot of wiggle room. Claire's ears perked up when she heard her friends speak, her mouth in a small frown.

"…wondering if Ferry will give us a bit of Christmas break,"

"Probably not, there's a lack of specialists on the team."

"First Claire, then Joe and Jane."

"I know, but those sleaze-balls Joe n' Jane had no future here after what they did."

As the last person spoke, the elevator suddenly stopped, making everyone lose their balance at the movement. One small red light blinked on, creating enough light to see in the elevator.

"Shit, power's out again."

"Probably the wind,"

"And the snow, this always happens at this time of year."

Everyone seemed to nod and hum in agreement before they all frowned and sighed. They all sat on the floor, and Claire joined them. Wesker remained standing, looking quite annoyed at the fact he was now stuck in a confined space with people he most likely despises.

Claire's friend, Corn broke the silence they sat in.

"You know, thinking about it…I still wonder what happened to her body…"

"I hope some sicko didn't take it…" Sarah spoke up, and Claire held a curled up fist to her mouth to stop from laughing. Claire looked to Wesker, whose eyebrows seemed to furrow even more at the comment.

"After everything she's done for us, she deserves to be properly found," David stated, and everyone nodded. "I miss her."

"Why, because she did your paperwork?" Merry joked.

"Hey, you know that's not why!" David seemed to whine, and laugh with Merry. Claire wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Remember the days she got really angry? Especially that one day she almost choked me because I woke her up from a power nap," Corn said, and Claire smiled at the memory.

"Or when her brother was on a dangerous mission." David added. Claire knew she was always pissed off when her brother wouldn't tell her where he went.

"Or when she got back from Harvardville. God, she was mad that she couldn't work. She couldn't even walk properly!" The three of them laughed, and Claire just kept smiling.

"Hey, who are you, anyways?" David stated, looking towards Claire, while she only blinked.

"I'm…Maia Birkin."

"And…?" he points up to Weskers un-interested form.

"He's with me."

"Ah, oh wait," David's face seemed to light up. "Birkin? Like that missing Sherry Birkin girl?"

"Yes," Claire stated, they must have remembered her story. "She's actually my family."

David nodded, only to continue, "So, why are you here?"

"I've actually come, to pick up Claire's things," Claire replied quietly.

"Her stuff?" Claire nodded, knowing Chris hadn't touched a thing. "Damn, so you'll be taking the kidney too!"

"Yes," Claire answered in amusement.

"Right so, Birkin? How do you know Claire?"

Claire was taken aback, she hadn't thought that far. But to her luck, the elevator began to move again and everyone seemed overjoyed at the fact as well they forgot David's question. Everyone stood again, and watched as everyone left, giving her a wave. Her floor was one higher, giving her time to take a deep breath. She was relieved at the timing.

The doors opened at her floor, and she walked down the hall arriving at a door labeled E7. Claire removed keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. She looked up at Wesker, who seemed to be pretty emotionless, _as always,_ and proceeded through the door.

"Guys! I'm home!" Claire shouted when she walked through the door, and she heard the pitter patter of two sets of footsteps. From the kitchen, two Siberian huskies walked out towards her. The one that was brown and white, with the mixed color eyes walked up to Claire, ready for him to be pet. The second one sat and stayed where it was. He was black and had icy blue eyes, while the one that Claire pet had one blue, one deep red eye. Claire hugged the dog in front of her tightly.

"Oh Rosso, I missed you so much! Did you miss me?" The dog barked for a reply and began to lick her face again. She all but laughed and tried to hold him back.

"Okay, go to the bedroom, I'll be right there." It must have been routine, for the dog did as it was told. She slid over to her other dog, giving him a big hug as well. It seemed to want to escape, but Claire held it tightly. "I missed you too, Mundus. And I know you missed me!"

The dogs face was pointed in the opposite direction of hers, looking straight at Wesker. He swore the dog was glaring at him; never wavering its eyes. Wesker took the challenge.

Claire finally stood, and faced towards the hallways in the apartment.

"Feel free to do what you want." She walked away, and Wesker could hear her begin to open drawers and slam a few object. _Packing._

He took a good look around from his spot. The living room was what he deemed _normal_ for a woman like Claire. A red couch sat to the side of the room, a TV across from it, and a black coffee table spaciously in between. The space of the apartment was quite large, probably needed because of her dogs, but the red and black walls made it seem compact. His attention was finally brought to a tall chest with drawers, which held photos upon it. After walking up to it, he noticed there was a photo of Claire at the beach with her brother, Jill and Leon. Chris and Claire were laughing. He remembered it well, for it was the one that was glued to Chris' desk when he was in S.T.A.R.S. There were more photographs, of just the girls Claire, Jill and Rebecca, Claire with some coworkers, and then one with a certain woman in it. _Mrs. Redfield, _Wesker thought. There was one more photo, but it was of Claire and her ex-fiancé; he paid no heed to it. His thoughts were disturbed when he felt a rub against his leg.

Rosso, he remembered what Claire had called him earlier, had come up to him holding a plastic bag.

"Can you pack my pictures in there?" Claire spoke from the other room. Wesker sighed, and complied. Although, he seemed to be getting quite annoyed staying here so long.

"You need to stop," Wesker growled, turning around only to face the other dog, which still bored holes into him with his eyes.

"Huh? Stop what?" Claire asked, quickly shuffling about.

"Packing so many items, it is not necessary,"

"I finished a few minutes ago," Claire replied, and only heard Wesker sigh. She took one last glance at her wedding dress in the closed, and slammed the closet door shut.

"You get to come home, Rosso," she called out, carrying a medium sized suitcase in her hands exiting the bedroom.

Claire's eyes went to Wesker, who seemed quite annoyed by her. Her lips curled into a worried smile.

"Hey uhh, why don't you go and take my things so you don't have to hang out anymore.. I've got another place to go after here…"

Wesker stared at Claire; his features relaxing a bit knowing he could escape, except for the fact that the two dogs would be going with him. He heard Claire direct the dogs to follow him. This was all he needed, a dirty car. He turned and left with Claire's things in hand.

Claire heard them get in the elevator and leave. She was thankful Wesker even co operated. _Man, I hope he really doesn't mind…_

She grabbed the hidden set of keys from a drawer to her other vehicle, an SUV she rarely used, and headed out the door, locking it behind her. She made her way to the stairs, deeming it to be shorter since she's only going down a level. She went up to Corn's apartment and knocked. _I hope he doesn't think why I knew his apartment._

"Oh, Maia! Right?"

"Hey listen, here" she handed him a chain of keys. "-are the keys to her apartment. Anything left is yours. Even the kidney she kept from her first test; I decided not to take it," her face grew a sad smile. "Say goodbye to everyone for me, ok?"

His face looked a bit confused, but seemed to take it as a good gesture. "Um, sure. Thanks, and see ya!"

Claire turned and walked towards the elevator, wiping her eyes. Finally down at the underground parking, she walked up to her hibernating, red SUV. It was an Opel Corsa she purchased used from some importer. It took a bit to start the car, getting the jitters out of her system before turning the key in the ignition and pulling out.

Both of her hands remained on the wheel, not taking a chance for what happened before to happen again. She knew she couldn't die from it again but, the experience was traumatic. She stopped at her old favorite bar, walking in to grab a bite to eat. She then heard her phone rig, and took a glance at the clock when it did. _ I've been sitting here for a good two hours,_ she thought before answering the phone.

"Hello?" she hadn't checked to see who was calling.

"Hey sis!" Chris's voice came through the earpiece, "Listen, I know it's only been a couple of hours but I was already able to contact the people you said was okay to tell, and they all rushed over right away." Claire's eyes went wide, hearing her brother out of breath since he said it all in one breath. "So, you think you can stop by? Even Leon made it, and Susie's been asking for you and…"

"Susie?" Claire gasped; this was Billy's and Rebecca's daughter. She had to be six years old now, remembering how cute she was, since she had always called her 'Aunt Claire'.

Chris continued, "Yeah, when Becca found out, she didn't hesitate to tell her daughter the truth. That little girl looks up to you."

"Oh God…Okay, just give me 30 minutes. I should be there in that time, okay?" Claire's mind had mixed thoughts, but she was much too excited to see everyone.

"Alright sis, bye."

Claire stood up and jet out of the bar. Her mind raced as she drove, not exactly the safest thing to do since she had only just been overly cautious. She went back to her brothers' house, and sat in her car for a moment when she arrived. She could hear everyone's voices faintly inside, hustling and joyous once they finally noticing her car. She turned her head, looking to the sky. It was getting dark quite early. The wind blew the snow and clouds in the dim sky. She removed her wig and glasses leaving them in the car after seeing the sidewalks empty. Not many people would even dare to walk out on the streets in this cold. She stepped out of her car and locked it, walking up to the stairs with a spring in her step. She didn't even have to knock and the door already opened. Jill's face appeared in front of her, smiling just like she did yesterday.

"I've only been gone half a day, Jill," Claire joked, and was pulled in by Jill. She removed her coat and boots, and made her way to the living room, receiving a few gasps from the people frozen in the room.

"Oh my God, it really is true! You're here!" Rebecca began to cry, her smile wide across her face. Billy held onto her to comfort her, and Susie all but ran to Claire, grabbing on tightly. Claire kneeled down and hugged Susie back, remembering to be extra careful.

"Aunt Claire! I'm so happy you're back!" Claire felt the sting of tears in her eyes, and everyone else seemed to join in. A few others made their way to her, giving her a hug or patting her on the back. She could only laugh, her happiness reaching through the roof. Barry, Carlos and even Ferry were able to make it. Even Leon's face couldn't hold back his feelings, his lips unable to stay in a straight face.

Everyone eventually calmed down and sat, Susie sat on Claire's lap, asleep and exhausted from crying so much. Claire had once again repeated her story to the others; everyone seemed to understand the basics of what's happened. There were a lot of questions, but she answered them all as best as she could. It had been a few hours, and everyone just seemed to carry on with normal conversations then. She lifted Susie and handed her back to her father before heading into the kitchen, needing water from talking for so long.

She heard someone walk into the kitchen behind her, and she turned with a glass in her hand. Leon stood there, looking at Claire with a hard face. She knew how he was before he worked for the government, and was glad there was still a bit of it left in him. His eyes were quite watery, and he joked giving a horrible excuse for it. She placed her glass down, and he hugged her. They quickly spoke about their time together when they first met, and about Sherry, and how Leon apologizes for not telling her sooner. She understood, and Leon seemed extremely thankful to have a friend such as her.

Leon left, and Ferry walked in, he was quite interested in what was going on with her body. She was able to explain it to him in more medical terms, and he seemed to get what was going on more. He, the same as everyone else, knew to keep his lips sealed about everything.

Rebecca seemed to follow last in the train of people, Smiling and giving a longer hug to her than before.

"Hey you know, I'd love Susie to hang out with you more." Rebecca smiled, "She asked if she could come and stay with you, you know how she is."

Claire smiled and nodded, and was about to explain why it was a bad idea until Rebecca continued,

"I know she can't stay with you, but, please try to come back once in a while if you can. It would be really wonderful. We all love seeing you again Claire. I will never take for granted the gift we've been given, even if it was from Wesker."

"Thank you Rebecca. I'll definitely do my best!"

The two girls smiled in understanding, and Claire made her way back to the living room. It was now nearly 10pm, and she was sure Wesker had been wondering when she'd return. She said her goodbyes, and was dressed all back up. She stepped outside, and Jill followed behind after the others left the door.

"Claire wait," Jill took a hold of her arm. "I need to tell you something."

"Hmm?" Claire turned to face her.

"Listen I didn't want to bring it up inside but… if you throw up tomorrow, give me a call." Claire's eyes questioned her, but then widened at her accusation.

"You don't think...?"

"Just call me, will ya?" Jill winked, squeezing Claire's shoulder and ran back inside.

She quickly turned and made her way to the car, unlocking it and sitting inside. She pulled out from the driveway, and drove a bit down the road until she pulled off to the side. Her hands gripped the steering wheel very tightly, letting it generate a pinched leather sound.

She knew exactly what Jill had meant, and she looked down at her abdomen.

What the hell was she supposed to tell Wesker?

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><p>:D Well? What do you think?<p>

I hope you like it~! And thanks so much for so many reviews! Love you all~!


	11. Lost

**Chapter 10: Lost**

**Edited By: Naoko Suki**

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><p>Wesker hadn't been in a good mood since he'd left Claire's apartment. She'd 'ditched' him with all her baggage; including the dogs. The nicer one of the dogs just wouldn't sit still, invading every corner of the area. The dog, who stared at him before back at the apartment, did it the whole time here sitting at his labs' door entrance. This was the last thing he needed, he didn't know why he was putting up with this madness Claire was driving him to, but his patience was sure thinning.<p>

Eventually, after doing his damned hardest to ignore the mongrels occupying his living area, he heard the front door open and close, followed by a 'thud' of a bag dropping.

"Rosso! Get off of me!" He heard Claire yell from the doorway. Her temper seemingly to have returned. Her footsteps came a bit closer, yet she only yelled at the dog sitting at his doorway to move, threatening to pick him up if he didn't. His air felt more pleasant once the dog left his work area, but it was the Redfields' fault in the first place.

Claire made her way into the kitchen, annoyed at everything right now. Normally she wouldn't have minded her dog seeking attention from her, but what Jill had said made her world upside down. Jill couldn't be serious, right? There's no way she could be, especially since she's 'dead'. What would Albert say? What would Chris _do?_ Her stomach growled seemingly hungry again.

But she shouldn't be.

The hunger took control of her, and her hands made their way to the freezer to make something easy. Her dog Rosso sat by her feet, like she hadn't even left his side in the first place. Her hands grabbed some cannelloni frozen dinner than only needed to be thrown into the oven. Her hands dove into some boxed crackers while she waited; feeding her dogs a cold steak each since she hadn't brought over any dog food yet. The second the meal finished heating, she consumed every last bit of the large food filled pan and made her way back to her room, not even bothering to talk to him.

How could she yet?

A large sigh left her lips as she began to run the bath for herself. She sat upon the toilet seat, and Rosso nosed his way into the cracked open door.

"I'm sorry buddy, I missed you too," her hands wrapped around him, planting a kiss upon his furry head.

She stripped down and turned off the water after stepping and sitting in the tub. Her head lay back, and her eyes closed. But relaxation never came. Body tense, her head was hurting.

What if she is pregnant? It's only natural for it to happen. A man and a woman consummate and that's usually the result. Would Wesker take care of her? Will she be told to leave, or told to get rid of it? Claire's eyebrows furrowed. _No._ There was no way she'd let that happen to her. Her first child; it could be completely normal. _Maybe a family and…_

_Chris._

Claire rubbed her face, even more worries about Chris rejecting her because she carried his greatest enemies' child ran through her head. Then her heartbeat quickened at one word; infected. She was infected. The baby, would it be too? Would it mutate and grow to kill everyone and- _Stop it, Claire._

There was a fat chance she'd barely survive the stress if she didn't calm down right not. _Wesker will suspect something soon, sadly, he isn't that stupid,_ she thought. Claire wasn't even 100% sure she even _was_ pregnant. If she was still sick tomorrow, she'd need to be out to do it. There was no way she'd even let Wesker get a hint of anything wrong with her right now, she didn't want to take any chances yet. Claire's eyes closed, finally at peace with her plan. She was feeling tired, but wait;

She shouldn't be.

The water had already gotten a lot colder so she pulled the plug for the bath and got out to dry off. Her favorite pajamas were already packed in her dresser. _I'll really have to thank him again later._ She put them on, and collapsed onto her bed, where her dog Rosso slept. She hugged him tightly as her face laid upon the back of its head; asleep within minutes.

Wesker hadn't heard Claire move for hours. After finishing the last few sentences on his form, he stood and went to the Redfield's room. She was asleep again. It was quite confusing. Her body should have already completely transformed, and she should have no requirements for rest or sustenance. He'd have to take another blood test, something was up. Both of the woman's dogs lay upon her bed, and the one who tended to watch Wesker only turned his head for a second, seemingly knowing Wesker was not going to tread into their territory. Wesker only shook his head, and closed her door.

**.**

"I'm going jogging," Claire said standing in Wesker's labs door. Her face was stern, hoping she could reason with him.

"What for?" he asked. There was no need for her to be out there more than she needed to.

"The dogs enjoy exercising, and I might as well make Rosso move a bit more, he's getting a bit chubby," her reply was quick, but she made no mistakes. "Besides, you wouldn't want them to have an accident on your floors, would you?" She turned and walked away, stopping at the door to pull up her socks at the heel of her shoes. Rosso was already by her side, and ran with her out the door into the forest.

Her legs ran fast, but it took a minute to realize her canine companion was far behind her. She forgot and didn't even think about her ability to run, even if it was a bit faster. Her head turned backwards, and her legs stopped to allow her pet to catch up.

Then it happened, she took a leap over the smallest of obstacles, and once she landed, her stomach began to turn. She covered her mouth and tried to swallow, but the sickness inside rose in her throat causing her to hunch over and release all the contents from her stomach. Her eyes watered, and her breathing came out in coughs.

"Why…now?" Claire cried, her fists clenching the dirt under her palms. The sound of pattered footsteps came and stopped beside her, hearing the panting of her dog silently waiting for her.

The woods kept silent as her cries finally went silent. After wiping her eyes, she spat out the remaining sickness and spit in her mouth; legs bringing her back to a standing position. Her mind raced to find a solution. The idea of her being pregnant seemed more and more realistic; her body got cold at the realization. But first, she'd need to confirm it. Sometimes, a Redfield's intuition isn't the best option.

If all of this was true, she'd tell Jill, then her brother. Wesker would find out last. He had to for it would be the worst situation to live from, _right?_

Her face paled down, and went back to normal cueing her to finally return to the house.

.

He looked at her weird when she returned the night before. It was obvious he could smell what she did when she ran last night. She paid him no attention and walked right by him to wash out her mouth at the sink. Today, Claire wasn't taking any chances. I had already felt nauseous enough, but was somehow able to keep it down since she hadn't eaten a thing. Claire grabbed her keys and shoved them into the pockets of her pants; wig, contacts and glasses all applied.

"I'm heading out!" Claire yelled with little patience. The door closed behind her before Wesker walked out of his room.

Wesker's eyes fell upon the cell phone that seemed purposely left behind.

**.**

An hour later Claire strode through the corridors she knew all too well, stopping at the reception desk where a woman she'd never met before sat. Claire asked to see the man she came here for, but she promptly replied with a large fake smile that he was too busy.

"Please call him, and tell him it's Maia Birkin. I assure you its very important."

The woman sighed and caved in, "Alright hold on a second," Claire nodded and turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"…Maia! What are you doing here?" Claire's friend Corn had asked happily.

"I came to meet with Ferry. How's work today?" She smiled, feeling as though she came in to _work._

"It's been better. Listen I…wanted to talk with you, when will you be free?" he asked with an unsteady tone in his voice.

"Oh, I can be after I meet with Ferry,"

"Alright, I'll find you after." Corn's face returned to a full smile before walking away. Claire nodded and heard the nurse speak up behind her.

"Miss Birkin, Mr. Ferry will be able to see you. Do you know where to go?"

"Yea, I can get to him. Thank you for the help," Claire smiled and went to use the elevator to get to the third floor. Stepping out, the office she needed to get to was literally across the hall. Knocking the door, she heard a feint 'come in' from the other side of it.

Claire stepped in and the door closed behind her. Her face had an uneasy smile and her hands seemed to not stop fiddling with each other.

"Hey Ferry,"

"Oh Claire," Ferry stood and opened a hand towards a seat for her to take, so she did. "You know, your mother came to me one day with that same smile. What's wrong?"

She hesitated; the words seemed caught in her throat. "I wanted to ask you for a favor." Claire watched his head nod to continue.

"Can you check me…uh," why she felt like a little girl right now, she would never know.

"Check you for what?" He asked again, clicking the pen that was in his hand.

"IthinkIampregnant," It had come out so fast, but he had heard it. She saw his eyes widen; hearing his mouth let out a quick rasp of air. But thankfully, he didn't congratulate her yet, he needed to test her.

"Did you want it through a blood test?"

"No!" her head shook rapidly, that was the last thing that needed to be let loose in a hospital. She was sure Ferry didn't completely 'understand' what she was. "Just an ultrasound, please."

"Alright, leave your coat and bag here and come with me." Claire nodded in agreement, following him out the door.

**.**

She was right. Lying on the hospital bed, her eyes stared at the machines screen. A tiny circle showed with a bumpy figure sitting inside of it. She was pregnant.

"It's looking fine, it's only been two weeks so I don't know too much about it," Ferry stated, but Claire's stayed silent. "Does anyone else know about this?" he asked softly.

"No…not yet," Claire sighed, her brows furrowing. "I can see it but, what am I suppose to do now?" her tears began to flow, even if her face looked angry.

"Look, you need a friend to talk to. Not family, and definitely not Mr. Wesker," he took a deep breath and continued, "Listen, Corn told me you visited your apartment, and he kind of stated you looked _very_ similar to the 'real' you. He started asking questions and, I told him everything."

Claire's head flipped on the pillow to face him, eyes wide. "You did what?"

"I had to tell him Claire, It was so hard not to. He knows most of the story, and he also knows _not_ to tell a soul or else everyone would be killed. He didn't care; he was overjoyed that you were actually alive!" Claire nodded in response, her eyes finally calming.

"I suppose that's why he wanted to talk to me today."

"And you should go; it will help you a lot. And don't worry; I'll be with you throughout your whole pregnancy."

Claire smiled and sat up, thanking Ferry for all his hard work to keep her secret 'mostly' a secret.

"One more thing, when are you planning to tell Chris?"

"Today, I want it all out on the table." Claire replied, her face determined.

**.**

Claire wasn't able to meet with Corn since he was about to begin surgery, but she promised to meet him soon. Now, all she was waiting for was for Chris to open his damned front door.

"Hey sis!" Chris greeted her with a wide smile when it finally opened, "What's up?"

"Hey Chris, I kinda need to talk to you."

"Oh sure, come in." He said, stepping to the side to allow her sister in. The door closed and he followed her to the living room where they proceeded to sit on the couches.

Claire removed her sunglasses, and watched Jill come into the room. She looked at her with worried eyes.

"Hey Claire," Jill said biting her lip, wondering if this was the _confirmation._

"Hey Jill, I was going to call you, but decided to come instead." Jill nodded in response and left to go into the other room. Chris' face smiled, but he looked a bit confused when Claire looked towards him.

"I've got something to tell you." Claire couldn't hold it; her eyes already began to tear, _again._

Chris tiled his head in wonder, "What's going on Claire? What's wrong?"

"Chris, I'm…I'm pregnant Chris," a few tears escaped her eyes, but she never let them leave her brothers sight.

Chris' face stayed in a smile, but it didn't look right. His face looked menacing as his eyes went wide, and finally it went into a scowl. "You're…what?"

As if it wasn't true; Chris didn't understand. His hands unclasped themselves as they gripped his knees.

"You're WHAT? Pregnant?" His voice yelled, and Jill ran in from the kitchen to stand at the doorway, her eyes on Chris. "With…with HIM?" He continued, his face reddening.

"Chris..please calm-"

"How the hell could you do this, Claire?" Chris' hand covered his own face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can't believe it; do you even understand what you let happen? You're pregnant with Albert fucking Wesker!" Claire only jumped to her feet at the raised level of his voice.

"Do you think this is something that I wanted? Think that this is easy for me? I'M the one who's pregnant, not you! What if he killed me, or the child; or both?" She yelled right back at him, but Chris's face deadpanned at her.

"I don't care."

Her own brother; he doesn't care?

"What?" Claire's whispered her mouth agape.

"I don't care anymore. YOU chose to be the fucking idiot and sleep with him, but worst of all, YOU let this happen. I don't even know how it's even goddamn possible for it to happen!" Chris let out a mocking laugh, "You were DEAD, Claire."

She held her breath, and she could see Jill in her peripheral vision clutching the shirt at her chest; eyes crying.

"You are NOT Claire. You are NOT my sister. Get out of my house." His eyes only showed fury, his thoughts irrational. But Claire didn't know.

She only nodded, placing her glasses back onto her face while Chris continued to spew profanities. Jill could be heard yelling at Chris, and telling Claire to come back but her legs already carried her out the front door and into her car.

The little Claire Redfield was dead.

Her car stopped in front of Wesker's house. She got one thing out of the way, there's no way Wesker would overreact like her brother, right? She knew he was mechanical and non emotional and—

Well, she hoped so.

**.**

It was already after 3 in the afternoon when she stepped inside the house to look at the clock. _Maybe I should eat?_ She thought she should for the child, but she didn't feel like she could stomach it.

Her feet carried her a bit more inside, and her head turned to see Wesker sitting on the couch. _He must have heard me arrive._

"Why were you at the hospital?" his face was stern when he asked. It was a good thing her shades were so dark that he couldn't see her eyes go wide. Did he still track her without the phone? _My car._ She sighed and hung up her coat before making her way to sit a seat away from him.

"It would be wise to answer my question. You do know how dangerous it is if you were to be found out, correct?" He stated again, in a berating tone. Claire only looked at his empty face. She really wanted to hit him, _hard_. He's the one who did this to her.

"I'm pregnant," Claire finally replied. Her jaw clenched waiting for his reply. Wesker only sat there staring at her, until he finally leaned back in the seat.

"Are you positive?" he asked dryly.

"No, I'm just joking around—YES I'm positive! I was getting out of the house to hide my puking from you." She looked at her lap, "It's only two weeks in."

"Any signs of mutation?" He asked coolly, as if she was some sort of subject. Oh how much she hated his voice right now.

"None, I was told it looks like a normal embryo-fetus thing."

"Have you thought about abortion?" He continued in his oh-so-hated voice. Anger boiled inside of her.

"How can you even ask me that?" Her breathing became a bit heavier, her temper beginning to show more than her regular emotions.

"Please try to calm yourself down dear-"

"Don't you dare 'dear-heart' me; you want me to calm down? You just asked me if I wanted to kill my child! You must _really_ be insane!"

Wesker sighed and removed the sunglasses that always adorned his face. His eyes squared onto hers. "I don't know what ideas you have, _Claire,_ but I have no intention to fulfill your dreams to start a family."

Of course, how could she even think Wesker would take care of her? She must have forgotten along the way who this man actually was. She stood up, and walked to her bedroom, feeling his eyes watch her as she did. She pulled out the largest suitcase that was brought here only a few days ago and began stuffing it full of necessities. There was no reason to cry. She was angry, mostly at herself to be so foolish. She pulled up the last zipper and looked towards her two dogs sleeping upon her bed.

"I'm sorry we're moving again guys." Claire whispered, and she finally stood from her crouched position. It was then when Wesker showed up in her doorway, arms crossed.

"There is no reason for you to act this way. What you're doing can be hazardous if I don't at least test you. I can always just rid any chances of a problem and terminate-" Claire interrupted when her fist flew for Wesker, and connected it with the side of his face.

His body flew backwards, but he was ready for the next angered punch and grabbed her forearm.

"Now now, dear heart-"

"Don't ever call me dear-heart, let alone think about killing my child ever again. I really wish you just left me to die," Claire seethed, her dogs walking up to her and snarling at Wesker.

His eyes remained on hers, but Claire twisted and ripped her arm from his grasp, pushing him backwards in the same motion. He watched her leave the house with the animals, and didn't even bother following. _Irrational woman._

**.**

Her car finally stopped back into her parking spot at her old apartment. She must have looked like a mad woman when she sat silently, and out of nowhere slammed her hands on her steering wheel, yelling at the top of her lungs. She eventually leaned back, and let her body calm down before she got out with her luggage and dogs.

After riding up on the elevator, her hand knocked on a certain man's door. _Please God, let him be home._ Her heart felt like it began beating normally when she heard the footsteps from behind the door. Corn's face looked right back at hers, and then her tears fell.

Corn reached out and caught her when her body began to waver on the spot. He pulled her into an embrace, rocking her as she cried.

"Claire…what's happened to you?" he asked softly and helped her walk inside with all her stuff and her two pets. He sat her down on his couch, and reached to remove her glasses, only pausing for a moment until he watched her remove the wig, and unzip her jacket. She looked like a train wreck, but he was so relieved to be looking at the regular Claire he thought had passed away.

"Please tell me what's happened…" Corn repeated, and Claire finally eased her sobs.

_Why not?_ She thought. She'd already lost everything else. Her brother, and the man she—

"Ferry already told you who I lived with…"

"With Wesker, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. I made the mistake of trusting him too much. I'm pregnant, "she stated, and she felt Corn hug her tightly. "I was just abandoned by my brother, and abandoned by the only one who could ever understand or help me." She finished, and her hands began to tremble.

"Claire, never forget that wherever you go or what you do, I'll be here for you as your friend no matter what." He said, and Claire dried her tears once more.

"Thank you," she smiled, and lay back on the couch. Her body was so exhausted from the day's events, she almost immediately passed out.

Corn sighed and pulled his arm away from her and moved her suitcase and dogs into her apartment using the keys she'd given him recently. He came back for her, but even after the light movements of trying to wake her up, she didn't stir. He lifted her, being as careful as possible while he transported her back to her apartment into her bed. He knew she needed a real night's sleep. He'd stay here until she wakes to keep her safe; happy that his best friend had finally returned.

**.**

The man was preparing food for her, ready for when the woman wakes. The video of them both in the woman's apartment was being watched tenderly as the light from the monitor left a glow in the room, and on the face on the unknown male sitting in front of it; eyes watching every breath the Redfield woman took.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I hope everyone like this chapter! I am really sorry I'm not updating regularly, but please uderstand. I'm going to school now, and I'm really trying to write. I have notebook, so I write chapters when teachers aren't looking xD I got almost all Same Team new chapter, and I'm going to type it today, but my editor is busy too, so please forgive us, if there are some delays in updating! But I assureyou, we will finish all my stories, just be patient please :)! I hope this won't discourage you! Thank you so much for your reviews and being patient with me! I love you all!<strong>

**Elevenzombiez  
><strong>


	12. Eight Months

**Chapter 11: Eight Months**

**Edited by: Naoko Suki**

* * *

><p>"Hello?" Ferry's voice was heard from the other end.<p>

"It's me," Corn replied, "I wanted to take a few days off. With Claire being back and all, I didn't want her to be alone."

"How is she anyways?" He sighed, his eyes looking across the room towards the closed bathroom door.

"Right now? She's vomiting again. She just woke up so I'm making her some plain foods to eat."

"I see, well let me know if she-"

"You do realize old man," Corn interrupted, "I am a doctor too, right?" A chuckle came from the other end.

"I know, I just promised her mother I'd look after her. It's a hard habit to break. I've got some things to catch up on here, I'll call later."

Corn ended the call and placed the phone back into his pocket. He knew it was going to a bit hard to take care of Claire. She was stubborn in the first place, but now with all these pregnancy hormones inside of her he didn't know what to expect anymore. His head turned and was almost shocked to see Claire standing right there. He hadn't even heard her walk up.

"I made you some breakfast," He noticed her attire. The ponytail on her head was messy, white shirt and grey sweatpants dressed her body.

"I know. I can smell it, thanks." She mumbled wiping her mouth with her wrist before she sat at the kitchen table. He joined her and handed them both a dish. Claire ate slowly, but didn't finish her plate and placed it into the sink before making her way to the couch.

"You know," she said, flipping through some channels, "you should be at work."

"I have a couple days free," he walked into the room and sat beside her. "I was thinking of-"

"I don't need a baby-sitter; I can take care of myself." She let out a sigh.

"I'm _not_ going to leave you alone, not like Chris. I was always the one here for you, when he was missing, and after those..._missions_ you were on. Don't even try to tell me an excuse, I know you hate being alone!"

Claire rubbed her face with her hands; her head turned the opposite direction of him. "Guess I gotta' get used to it then."

"No. No you don't. I'm going to be here for you and for your child. Always." He turned and slowly hugged her from the side.

"You shouldn't say 'always'. It's a hard word for someone to keep, apparently." A few sobs escaped her lips.

"But I'll be here. To help you with your shitty life," Corn smiled, and Claire chuckled, turning to hug him back.

"Ah…Okay that's too tight…"

**.**

The week afterwards had been the same. It seemed as though Claire didn't even want to move. Corn seemed to get a little annoyed. It was four days until Christmas, and she seemed to get gloomier with each passing day.

"Go get dressed; you're coming with me to go tree shopping."

Her face turned to him with a surprised shock, "I…don't really want to and I…don't have any money?"

"Ha! Don't even, I know of your 'emergency box' you keep. Now stop with this miserable attitude and let's go! I'm getting hungry now too!" Corn smiled, and crossed his arms.

Claire sighed, and gave in. She really needed to drag herself out of this pit she dug herself into. Corn was right. _He usually is though._

**.**

It was the morning of Christmas Eve; Claire had prepared breakfast, and had been cooking daily to keep her mind clear. They both sat and ate in the living room until Corn spoke up as he took another bite.

"I have a surprise for you," he looked to her and smiled, "While I was walking your dogs yesterday, I was talking with Ferry on the phone, and we decided to bring you back to work."

"Claire Redfield is _dead_." Claire emphasized it with gesturing quotes.

"Don't think about what Chris said anymore. I—we're your new family. Anyways, we've already made papers for you to be '_Maia Birkin'_. And it looks like she even has the same Doctorate as you."

"A-Are you serious?" Claire was shocked. She had forgotten about 'Maia'.

"Sure am. You can start in a few days." Corn laughed, and Claire began to cry. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm happy, of course. Besides, I even cry when most commercials come on…" She sniffed, and Corn only laughed louder.

**.**

Claire had only been working again for a few days, and it had already hit the night of New Years Eve. Her days included the same as they did in her regular life, even though Ferry sometimes accidently said her real name out loud. She was just glad she could work, for it was a great escape for her mind, and always made her smile.

"Hey Maia! Why aren't you down at the party? You're going to be late!"

Her head turned and faced David with an apologetic look, "_Someone_ still has to be with the patients. Besides, I don't-"

"They'll be fine for a few minutes. Come on!" David grabbed her arm and dragged her to the cafeteria. She walked over to her group of friends and began chanting in time for the countdown. Except unlike last year, none of her family was here to celebrate with her. _I wonder how Chris is…_

Her train of thought was lost when Corn cam and pulled her to dance.

_Is this my family now?_

It had been almost two months now since Claire's discovery of her child. Lying on the hospitals patient bed, Ferry helped her check the status of her child. It didn't take long for him to set everything up, for he had to do everything as quickly as possible since it was all happening during work hours. The gel was cold along her stomach, and the screens flickered on with an image of a figure.

Claire choked on her breath when she saw his eyes widen.

"What is it? Is there something wrong? Are they-"

"You have twins." The room went silent.

Ferry continued when he finally heard an 'oh' escape Claire's lips. "I should tell you, your mother was a twin as well, but her sister did in the fetus before they were delivered. Apparently it's genetic in your family that every woman usually bears twins, and just like everyone before her, only one of the two were able to survive."

"Wait, so if every woman in the family has twins then…"

"You were the one that lived as well, Claire."

"Then what about Chris?" her voice shook, "Does he…"

"No, he was a single child. Be happy though Claire, you're going to have two beautiful girls! But, I can't really tell right now what one will be weaker at this point; you will have to wait a few months for them to develop more."

Claire nodded in response and looked at the monitor more. _Twins…_

"Can I have a copy of that?"

"Sure can, wait a sec," He turned to another machine, and Claire looked down at her stomach.

She kind of wished she was with Wesker so he could run the tests and-

_Yeah right. There's no way I'm going back there. He wants to kill them._

"Here you go," A thick film of paper was placed in front of her hand and given to her, "The first picture of your girls."

After Ferry had left, she cleaned herself up and redressed, placing the photo in her front pocket. Walking out into the surprisingly empty hall, she let her shoulders droop and a sigh escaped her lips.

Now the only thing she could think of was the safety of her children. God only knows what _Wesker_ will do. He wants them extracted._ Destroyed._

Of course, Corn will jump in and help but, there's no way she'd want to burden him any further. He should be starting his own life; his own wife and his own child. Although now she agrees with him; there's no way she wants to be alone anymore.

"E…Excuse me?" Her head looked up to another woman by the reception desk, not even realizing she made her way there.

"Hello, My names Dr. Maia Birkin, would you like to tell me what's wrong?" She asked the woman who sported blood all over the front of her shirt.

"Oh Miss Birkin, I'm okay, I'm okay. But my husband…" Her face went angry as she continued, "That idiot can't even cook a damned turkey! Wasting all my time preparing it and all he had to do was—"

"So wait, what…happened?" Claire backed up a step and asked cautiously.

"I just got a little angry and I took the knife from the counter and I cut his hand! He will never waste food like that again! Do you know how upset I am? Do you?"

"Y-Yes of course, now please step into the room right over here, and I'll send someone in there to help."

Claire let out a strained face as she watched the huffing woman enter the patient room, and she called out to the passing nurse.

"Can you clean her up and call the police," The nurse nodded and smiled in agreement.

"I'd also call a psychologist too if I were you."

"Will do, Dr. Birkin. Can I ask how your progress is going?" her finger pointed to Claire's belly.

"Oh it's going along fine, thank you for asking," her face sported as much of a smile as she could.

"Thank God! You know, some of us can't wait. It's always exciting to see a fellow doctor become pregnant! We actually all thought Claire would be next…But, well…"

"I think she would have been happy to hear that," Claire replied and waved before walking to her next patient.

"Hey Claire, how'd today go?" Corn spoke up as he walked into the apartment.

Her hand rose and waved, "Good, only puked a fourth of what I did yesterday." She heard him chuckle across the room. "I also had quite an interesting patient today. Some young teen was stabbed by his girlfriend because he forgot about Valentine's Day," She said amused.

"Do you remember when we went out for Valentine's?"

"I think even the club remembered," Claire held her cheek and laughed loud, "You were such an idiot; I can't believe you sang that love song for that Connie chick! You knew she wouldn't like it!"

"At least I was stupid in _love_," His voice tuned the last word, "Anyways; I got a little something for ya. Get dressed; we're going to the Football game."

She watched Corn pulled two slips of paper from his back pocket and flashed them. Claire's jaw dropped; there was no way he got tickets for this game. They sold out weeks ago. She all but squealed and hugged him before rushing to get changed. She was going to have to say, this would be the best Valentine's Day she's ever had. She slipped the wig atop her head and paused for a moment. _Wait. Chris will be there, he never misses a game._

"Don't you dare even think about it Claire," she turned and saw Corn enter the room. "If we see him, just ignore him. It isn't worth it for your day to be destroyed because of him."

"You always read my mind, I don't know how though! You need to stop!"

Corn folded his arms and gave a smug smile, "Listen, today we'll watch the game and enjoy ourselves. You're not allowed to think about Chris or Jill, got it?"

"Not allowed huh? Is this an order?" Claire copied his stance and facial expression.

"You got it, if I see sad eyes on your face again, I'm sleepin' with you today," He warned, but she just laughed.

_Does he even realize what he just said?_

"I mean it! You know how loud I snore right?" _Oh, of course._

"Yes, I can hear you from the couch. Jeeze! Let me finish up and we can go." She watched Corn nod and walk away.

Today she could tell him, that they—No. That she's having twins. It only took a minute to put on her black boots and button up her red coat. They were the only pieces of clothing she kept; everything else was thrown away, two months ago.

She walked out and put on a smile, today was going to be a good day. "I'm ready!"

As they made their way down, they decided to take Corns' sporty dark blue BMW. He opened the door for her and she sat inside. The ride was silent between them, both seemingly lost in their thoughts.

Her mind wandered, from Chris (even though she was told not to.) to Jill, to her friends, then lastly to Wesker. Does he even remember her? She felt like a broken record, asking herself the same questions over and over, but her heart still hurt. It hurt and longed. God, she really did feel like an idiot.

"We're here," Corn whispered, thinking Claire had been asleep. Claire turned her head to him and smiled before joining him leaving the vehicle. There were a lot of people in and out of the stadium. _Sure is a hell of a lot of couples._

"We've got somewhat close seats; we need to hurry before the game starts." He took her wrist and led her through the crowd, weaving between people and lines until they reached their seat.

They chatting as the game went on, about work, days from college and other dumb things they did in life. She remembered her first day of college, alone since she lost most of her friends after the outbreaks. He was the only one who came up to sit with her, not that she didn't mind the company. In fact they became best of friends. But friends they stayed, afraid that if things never worked out, they'd lose the best friendship in the world.

The game finally finished and Claire's throat hurt from the yelling. Their team had won, and people had already begun to leave. Corn stood after the stands cleared a bit, but Claire stopped him.

"Ethan?" She called his name. It was kind of weird for her to say it since calling him by his nickname seemed like second nature. Of course, the name came from his extremely yellow hair color.

"W-whuh?" He was unsure how to react; he hardly heard his name except from his parents. His eyes wandered to the photograph Claire held out to him.

"Its twins," she said, and watched in surprise that he wasn't confused but happy as his smile grew. The hug afterwards took a large weight off her chest.

"Oh my God, Claire! That's fantastic!" She laughed at him, extremely relieved. _Thank you, Ethan._

They both smiled and chatted when they walked back to the entrance, but when they reached it, her eyes clicked right onto her brother, alongside Jill, Billy and Rebecca. They were laughing together, _her family, without her._

Corn had to drag her away from the scene, she picking up little sentences from the group, _"It's wonderful Chris!," _ _"I know, it's perfect." "Let's get back home."_

They made it back to the car, and she stepped inside the car, "If I wasn't pregnant right now, I'd already be drunk." _How the hell am I supposed to ignore _that?

"Shit Claire, I didn't actually think out of everyone there we'd actually run into them. I wanted this to be a nice night and it turned into-"

Claire's hand rose up to stop his talking, "It was a great night Ethan, and thank you for doing this for me. It was perfect," She watched his eyes show doubt, "It really was!" Corn shook his head, and they made their way back to the apartment.

"You hungry?" He asked her, and she just stared at him with a sheepish grin, "Why'd I even ask?" He smiled once more and turned to walk into the kitchen.

"_I know, it's perfect."_

The phrase echoed in her head. Chris did seem happy. Maybe this was the best solution for everyone?

Maybe.

Claire walked into the hallway at the hospital, her hand touching her growing belly. It was mid March and she felt like the time was just flying by. Her tummy growled and she frowned. Eleven-thirty and she was hungry again. But the selection at the cafeteria here that awful for her broad desires for food. Sad thing though, she'd already been here five times today. She walked up to Margaret, the woman working the counter and ordered a burger and some chips. That should subside any more hunger for tonight or at least a few hours. _Where I'm putting all this, I'll never know._

Claire took her tray and sat at a table adjacent to two other nurses in the room, her ears picking up their chatter,

"Did you see that hot blonde guy come in tonight?" the brunette nurse said putting down her fork and Claire stopped chewing.

"Yeah, but boy I would kill for him to say my name like he did to the other nurse!"

Claire stood and walked as fast as she could out of the room. _Damn it. It couldn't be. There's no way. Right?_

"Maia?" she jumped in the middle of her stride, she sure didn't hear anyone behind her. _Sherry?_

"What are you…!" Her breath was taken away when the blonde threw her arms around her.

"I'm so glad you're okay, I came to visit my aunt, then I found out _Maia_ was working here so I came to visit both of you and," Sherry took a deep breath, "I'm getting married tomorrow."

"Wow I… Congratulations!" Claire's eyes widened in excitement, a smile forming on her lips.

"I…know you won't be able to come, mostly because of Uncle but," she waves her hands in front of her body, "I'm not mad at you! I understand! I just don't want you mad at me for telling you so late..."

"Are you kidding me? Don't apologize for such a silly thing. It's kind of a good thing that it's this way. So, is Leon going?"

"Yeah, and unfortunate so is that Ada-"

"-bitch." the two said and laughed in unison.

"You know, you look a lot prettier now…not that you weren't before but, maybe it's because you're pregnant? May I…?" Sherry's hand outstretched a bit, and was delighted when Claire said it was alright.

"How long now, three months?" Sherry smiled as she eventually withdrew her hand.

"Three and two weeks. Back to you though, today is your last day as Miss. Birkin. Let's do something crazy!"

"Crazy like what? You can't really go drinking again." Sherry mused.

Claire's stomach rumbled again, she didn't really finish her meal earlier...

"…Eat all the cafeteria food?" The blonde only laughed.

Claire had returned home early from her work that day to relax, for some reason that day she felt sore and tired more than usual. Her key went into the door and realized it was already unlocked. Her hand flicked the light on, and her eyes spotted three of her friends; Ferry, Corn and Sherry. They all seemed to smile while Claire stood there flabbergasted.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" the three of them shouted together and Claire felt like the only one left out. _Had it really been today?_

"Ha! I told you she forgot!" Corn yelled out as he walked up to her and kissed her cheek. Claire's hand went to her cheek and massaged it, "You workaholic!" he finished.

"I must say, you keep getting bigger and bigger. You've got two healthy kids inside ya!"

"I…," Claire finally smiled, "Thank you all for doing this."

" Shut up and eat!" Corn handed her a plate with a slice of cake on it.

"Mmm, my favorite food."

**.**

The evening went on, and everyone focused on Claire's pregnancy. About if she was going to make a room just for the baby, furniture, colors, and toys. She also really wished she could have done all this with Jill. But her friends reminded her that she's to do it with them now. It was beginning to become a problem not to think about Chris though.

A few hours later, Ferry left to rest for work the next morning and Sherry left shortly after. Claire stood to collect some plates scattered about when Corn walked up to her with a determined face.

"Hn?" Was all Claire could say before he slowly moved in and kissed her. His hand reached her face when she didn't pull away, but he finished the kiss moments after. His eyes looked into hers as he let his hand drop slowly back to his side.

He gave the surprised woman a quick smile and spoke before leaving to work, "After today, you should have better things to think about."

Claire was called to a car-accident patient's room for her help in diagnosis. She wondered how people could be so reckless. Who is she kidding though; she had been in one as well. She didn't check the name on the clipboard hanging on the door outside of the room when she picked it up, and her head just looked at the patients' records while she walked in.

Her body froze when her eyes rose. _They_ were here. Albert Wesker and the Rob guy were in the room. Rob seemed to be the patient with blood on his forehead and right arm. She didn't realize how fast she was breathing until her babies kicked inside of her. They always did when she was nervous.

"Oh, Claire! What are you doing here?" Rob said with his voice a bit raspy. Her eyes stayed on him; keeping them anywhere other than on Wesker.

"It's Maia. And seriously, is this the only hospital in New York? Why the hell did you come here? …Hnn" Her hand went to her stomach, the kicks getting harder.

"Are you…" She watched Rob's eye grow, and she regained her posture.

"Quiet please, give me the impact details of your accident," she said while laying the clipboard down and took his head in her hands, turning it slowly back and forth where he lay.

"Ah…it was a hit and run," He stated, and Claire looked at him directly and turned his head a bit far to the right, "Ow! A tree, okay it was a tree!"

"You know, I wasn't _trying_ to get the truth out. It just happened that way," Claire snorted and touched upwards on his neck, feeling for any kind of neck bruising. The flashlight was then taken by her hand and turned on to check his eyes. She shook her head and laid the flashlight down.

"So, can I go home?"

"Nope," she replied strictly and walked out writing on the clipboard once more.

"Albert," Robert looked towards his employee, "Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?"

"There was no need."

Robert grunted and gave his friend a wry look, "She needs someone to take care of her!"

"That is none of my concern," Wesker replied with a face of stone, "I should take leave now."

"No, you need to stay here with me. I don't want to worry my wife by you returning without me," Rob pouted as if he was a child, and the room's door re-opened with Claire walking through.

"We're going to have to move you to another room to get you a CT and MRI scans done. There's something showing in your pupils. I want to check and make sure there was no internal trauma. Can you walk? Or do you feel as if you need to stay lying down?"

"No, I can walk." Claire nodded and helped him stand, before noticing he was walking perfectly on his own. The three of them made it to the elevator and began to ride upward, the trip making her feel very uncomfortable. She definitely felt _his_ gaze on the back of her head. _Why did he just _have_ to be here?_

She guided Robert to the room where they held scans, and handed him off to another nurse to do the job. There was no way she was getting anywhere near X-ray machines while being pregnant. She waited in the hallway unfortunately with Wesker as well. She continued ignoring him and closed her eyes. It had been a long night for her since a lot of doctors had been sick, and a lot of her friends including herself had been working double shifts. Her head rested against the wall as her hand habitually rested on her belly.

"Hey Maia!" She opened her left eye and lazily turned her head to see the nurse she asked items from earlier, "I got you the gown you asked for, and the energy bar. Don't work too hard, okay?"

"Thank you for the help," Claire smiled and accepted the items.

"Oh, and Corn told me to tell you he 'needs to talk to that ass,' and 'that he'll be late for dinner'. Saying you'd understood what he meant."

"Just tell him to be careful. Is David starting soon?" Claire asked while opening her bar.

"No… you may have to stay a bit longer. I just prey you don't get sick as well. See you later Maia," she waved and walked back down the hallway.

"See ya," she said, chewing the last piece of the bar in her mouth.

She still had to wait outside for the two tests to be completed, but she couldn't stand the gaze of the jackass stand beside her. She felt like a piece of meat, or in his eyes, an 'excellent science project'.

"Maia," It couldn't have come any earlier as she sighed, "we're finished in here, but you'll have to wait a few hours as everything prints and get sorted." The Doctor stated to her when he appeared.

"Thanks. Send them to me when you're done. Now, _you're _going to have to stay here until those results come in. We'll get you a private room and a bed." The two men followed her as she walked to an empty room in the hall.

"But wait, I can't stay here my wife-!"

"—your wife will be glad you're here getting better rather than being dead, I can promise you that!"

* * *

><p>The reports finally came in and the results didn't look good at all. Well, structurally he was in top shape. She was surprised no serious injuries happened. But he still needed surgery for something entirely different. And although it was selfish of her, she hated the fact that Wesker would be here more often as well.<p>

"What do you mean surgery? You said my body was fine!" Rob yelled. Was he really that stupid? Not everything is about brute strength. Her hand held up the MRI of his head, pointing to the white spot at the front of his head.

"Do you see that? It's a tumor. Because of the pressure it's creating inside your skull, your sight is getting worse. Right now I bet you see foggy spots when it's too bright out. If it isn't removed soon, you will lose your eyesight completely."

"Yes yes but really, do I have to get it right now? Can't I just wait a few years or something and-"

"To be honest Mr. Brown," Claire started and spoke over him, "I know I should care, but I really don't give a shit about you two. But I'm telling you to save your eyesight, and your Wife will tell you to do the exact same thing. Obviously you are too damned stubborn to understand the situation you're in on your own!"

Robert sighed and caved in, "Okay, let's do it. Just don't call my wife yet."

"Just wait here, I need to go get—" she quickly turned and coughed, grasping a bed to hold herself up. Her eyes closed for a moment, and the weight of her slowly falling was lifted when she felt arms around her. Her eyes opened and she pushed Wesker's arms off of her. "Don't touch me," she growled, "I need to go and rest before I do your surgery. You need to start drinking just fluids anyways."

"But I thought you said I needed this done as soon as possible!"

"Did you want to be a vegetable? You only have to wait a few damned hours!" She faced him, and noticed he looked a little nervous. _My eyes._ She had forgotten they glow right through her contacts when she was angry.

"It's okay, I can wait honey! Sleep, sleep!"

"Charlie," Claire yelled out and the nurse outside the room came in, "Have him prepped for surgery starting in a few hours." The nurse replied and took over while she left, heading for the doctors quarters next door. She fell asleep almost instantly.

.

Four hours passed until she woke up, extremely well rested. The virus in her was doing its job, but sometimes she needed more rest than before. At least three hours a day. It's a wonder no one had noticed how much she really worked. She sat up and her eyes went to the desk next to her where a sandwich laid upon it along with the plans for surgery. She had to smile as she was glad everyone had been looking out for her.

After walking back into Mr. Brown's room, she called out his name and noticed he was still fast asleep with Wesker sitting on a chair nearby.

"Brown…" she whispered near the old man's sleeping body, "I'm calling your wife~" she sang with her voice, and the man jumped from his slumber.

"No! No don't you said you wouldn't!" At least it worked.

"Relax old man, I was kidding."

"Oh, you're better now."

"What is that suppose to mean?" she growled at him.

"Nothing! Don't call my wife!" he shouted in reply, but she couldn't hold back. Her throat busted out a laugh.

"Just relax," she finally finished laughing, "We're going to bring you over now. And don't worry; I'm the best there is for doing this." She smiled, and got Charlie's help rolling him into the Operation room.

.

The surgery finished within only a few short hours. With Claire's already brilliant work, the virus made her multiple times more precise and speedy than before. Brown was back into his room and with the IV narcotic he was given for surgery, Claire had to wait for him to awaken.

"Claire," She looked up to Wesker who sat across the room, "I was curious if you've found any...abnormalities with the fetuses." His voice was cold and direct, just as it was the day she left.

"I don't see why you would care now, out of all times you could, but everything is _fine_." She didn't bother to look at him anymore. With her brow furrowed, she left the room and passed David on the way, asking him to take over for her. She made her way to the bathroom and cried until she could cry no more. She avoided everyone until a few hours later, when she found out that both of the men had already left.

Relieved, she packed up her things and went home.

"They're girls!," Ferry smiled and shouted writing the date 'June 9th' on the back of the photo he printed out, "But one thing I have to tell you, it seems that one of them is stronger and more developed. Your virus is what saved the other ones life. I am so thankful they're both alive and well though."

A few tears left her eyes as she could not hold them back. She didn't know why she was crying. The joy that they're both alive and healthy or the thought one of them was infected.

"They're not mutated though…right?"

"No, not at all. They're both growing well with absolutely no abnormalities. You should start thinking about the date you're going to be due. Usually with twins it could happen a month early, even two. So call me anytime you can, I will be here for you."

"Thank you Ferry," She smiled and he returned one before leaving the room.

"You know you're both special," she looked down and talked to her belly, "We're going to do fine together. I will never let anything happen to you, Amelia and Leah Redfield." She smiled at hearing their names for the first time. "It's perfect."

* * *

><p>Later that evening, she went out to a restaurant with Corn, where she told him all about the news of them being twin girls. He just looked at her though when she told him one of them was infected, but it was the only way it survived. When she told him the names she chose, he chuckled and smiled, loving them instantly.<p>

They had worked all that weekend on the babies' room. The Cherry wood cribs and tables were set, peach rugs laid upon the floor and pinkish ornaments hung upon the walls. The walls were a beautiful red, just what Claire had wanted. It was a perfect room, for everyone in the apartment.

They both walked back to the bedroom for Claire had asked him to stay with her just to be safe.

He couldn't wait for the two girls to be here. Then they could truly be a family and then maybe Claire would finally realize how much he cared for her; realize this is her _home._

**July 3****rd****, 11:37 PM**

"Claire, you sure you're okay?"

"Of course, I'm just too damned big to get anywhere fast. I'll let you know when they're ready to pop out," Claire laughed, "I gotta go head off to surgery."

The recent days have been nerve racking. The wait was killing everyone at the workplace, but she kept calm. There was no way she could stay home, it would drive her crazy to do nothing all day.

Later on in the day, she finally had a break and wanted to show something to Corn that she picked up. It was two necklaces very similar to hers, but with the names 'Amelia' and 'Leah' inscribed on them. They sat on her passenger seat, so she walked to the front lobby.

"Hey Lora, I'm going to the parking lot to get something, I'll be back in a second if anyone's looking for me."

"Sure, be careful and watch your step."

Claire smiled and waved as she walked towards the elevator leading to the parking garage.

She made it to her car and unlocked it. Unlocking the door, she grinned when her eyes fell upon the two boxes on the seat.

She didn't hear the movement behind her, and the prick in her neck and the blunt hit to the back of her head caused her to receive instantaneous pain. She was tired, she should have slept earlier. Then she could have fought. Her body just limped backwards onto the concrete ground.

"Take her…facility, don't damage…fetuses are desired."

It was the last thing she heard, before everything went black.

…

Corn walked up to the reception desk and smiled at the receptionist, "Where is Maia?"

"Hmm, she said she was getting something from her car, but she hasn't come back yet? That was almost an hour ago. I thought she just snuck by me." Corn's eyes instantly furrowed, and he began to jog towards the elevator.

"I'm going to go see what's going on."

* * *

><p>He just froze when he saw her car door left ajar, with her nowhere to be found. Her wig was discarded partially under the vehicle, while a few drops of blood sat upon the door's frame. His eyes also spotted two little black boxes sitting on the seat, but he began frantically looking in every direction.<p>

"Claire?" he yelled, and repeated even louder, "Claire! Where are you?" He sprinted around the lot, checking between every car he passed. He then decided to head back to the apartment, andhe hopped in his car to get there.

Instead of finding Claire, he found a complete mess; as if the entire apartment was flipped upside down looking for something.

His fingers quickly dialed to talk to Ferry, explaining what had occurred and asking for help. He then knew just where to go, to get the best help possible. He flipped closed his phone, and made his way back to the car.

…

It had been a long night trying to get his son to finally sleep, but once he did, Chris and Jill were finally able to relax for the evening. He stood still looking down at his child, and thought of Claire. She had been pregnant as well, so she should be expecting soon...

He sometimes regretted what he had told his sister, he knew how manipulative Wesker was. God only knew if his sister was even still alive. The rapid knocking on his front door brought him out of his thoughts, and had his feet dashing for the front door. He opened it with a scowl on his face since it had taken all night to get his son to sleep, but was surprised when he was met with an even angrier face of Claire's friend Corn.

"What the hell are you doing here Corn! It's," He looked to his watch, "-almost one in the morning!"

"Listen to me," he growled, and pushed his was past Chris and into their living room, "I'm not here to argue with you about ditching Claire and leaving her alone when you found out she was pregnant-"

"What are you talking about? She IS living with Wesker! She chose to be with him, she's-"

"It's no surprise you don't know a damned thing, after you proclaimed she was _dead_ to you! After she left here, she told Wesker she was pregnant, and he absolutely refused her, wanting her to destroy the fetuses inside her. Claire left that night. For almost eight months she's been living with ME in my apartment."

"What?" Chris whispered, then raised his voice, "I…But I thought she was with him!"

"Maybe you would have known what happened if you weren't such an ass and didn't outcast your own sister! She didn't want to upset you and try to get in touch with you anymore, and now with her twins she-"

"Jesus Ethan! Twins? She should have just-"

"She's gone Chris," Corn had shut him up. "All I found at her car was her wig. She's been kidnapped."

The sound of his son crying started up, no surprise from all the yelling, but all that went through his mind were the horrible words, _"She's gone."_

_My little sister is gone._


	13. In the Lurch

**Chapter 12: In the Lurch**

**Edited by: Naoko Suki**

* * *

><p>Jill was able to calm her child when she rocked him in her arms but her movement was hurried, nervous of the situation. She overheard Ethan storm in and yell of the danger Claire was in. St first she had thought Wesker was in the middle of it all again until she thought about the other thing he mentioned. Wesker wanted nothing to do with the child or her anymore. If not him, then who? Nobody else knew that Claire…<p>

"—was still alive! Who the hell would take her? Did you _tell_ someone Corn?" Chris shouted, forgetting all about his son.

"Shut _up!_ I know how to keep a damned promise you know."

Chris grumbled and crossed his arms, "Then who?"

"You're in the BSAA aren't you? There were cameras in the parking lot but I don't have access to them."

It had finally clicked in his head, "No problem. I'll make a call and get all this taken care of," He paused, and gave a more relaxed face to Ethan, "A-and hey, I…"

"You know what Chris? You've been a good brother all these years, but what you did to her is unforgiveable." Ethan left, leaving Chris to work out the greatest nightmare in his life.

* * *

><p>It took two rings for him to answer his phone.<p>

"I'm busy at the moment. What is it?"

"_I just got a hold of some interesting information. Care to listen?" _ Wesker heard from the line as he looked to the men sitting around the table in the meeting room.

"Will you excuse me," He stated as he stood and walked out into the hall.

"This better not be a waste of my time, Miss Wong." Wesker's voice was stern.

"_Well, the agency got a hold of something very powerful." _Oh how much she enjoyed prolonging their chats just to tease him.

"Miss Wong…"

"_They've got your viruses, albeit in a very original packaging—"_

"They have Claire?"

"_Ah, so it's not Redfield anymore? Interesting."_

"How did they find her?"

"_It seems they had been keeping tabs on you, and anything pertaining to you. So when they saw another Birkin name pop up, it dinged their radars. Not only that, the same school, living place and friends? Apparently they were following her for a long time since she was the sister of Chris, an old member of your unit."_ The woman on the line paused, and Wesker's brows furrowed even more,

'_I suspected this would happen.'_

"Do you know who carried out the order?"

"_It happened at her workplace and the attackers were dressed in combat uniforms. H.U.N.K.'s unit if my sources are correct. I'm also very certain this is Sergei's doing. Who else would want your power this much?"_

"Your payment will be transferred shortly." He stated and hung up. He didn't bother returning to the meeting, leaving the building in haste instead.

* * *

><p>Three hours was the time it took to turn Chris' living room into a communications center. Billy and Leon were called over to help as well with the investigations. Anything could help him right now. They had finally received the video Corn had been talking about from the closed circuit recordings of the parking garage. Claire popping into view from the top left, entering the area through some doors.<p>

Chris smiled a little. She was exactly how he imagined her being pregnant; huge, but bright and happy.

She had just about gotten into the car when four men seemingly appeared out of nowhere, all wearing black and large masks on their faces. He saw the needle go into her neck as another hit the back of her head. She fell backwards, but light enough as one of them held her a bit from the impact. The wig fell, and three of them lifted her to a nearby car before it sped away.

"Well, at least we know what happened." Bill said breaking the silence.

"We didn't get anything from this!" Chris yelled, frustrated at the situation.

"You know what. There was a patient two months ago. Some kind of crash and Claire was his doctor."

"Her being the one to treat someone isn't important…" Chris scoffed.

"The point of me saying it is that the man knew of her infection! His name… She kept calling him Brown. Yeah, Robert Brown!"

"So he's the one who took her?" Leon tilted his head to the side trying to gather information.

"He was pretty old so I don't think so, but he could have been the one to spread word of Claire. Maybe if you track him down he'll tell you something."

"What, you can't do this?"

"Look at you, you guys have an athletic figure which I'm sure come in handy for _persuasion._" Corn smirked, "I'll go talk to Ferry. He may know some more of the patient."

"It's a start; better than nothing." Chris stated, grabbing his jacket before leaving the place.

* * *

><p>"Oh, he's in his office," The nurse replied when Corn questioned her.<p>

"Thanks." Corn walked into Ferry's office without knocking.

"Sorry to bust in on you like this," Ferry looked up from his papers at Corn. "Do you remember anyone coming around asking about Claire?"

"N-No, you haven't found her yet?"

"She was kidnapped. Please try to remember, was there anyone strange?"

"You know…There was a man about a month ago with a thick Russian accent. He didn't ask for 'Claire' but asked about Maia Birkin. I told him she worked here but wasn't at work anymore."

Corn nodded, "What did he look like?"

"He was one hell of a tall guy; pale with steel colored hair and a long jacket. He walked in with two men in suits and he had this pin with some weird design in the center, I can't remember it too well."

"A type of Army pin? Alright, thanks. I'm going to head back to Chris."

"Alright, be careful and let me know if you need anything else."

"Will do."

**…**

Corn left the Hospital and walked down the street, pulling out his cell to call Chris.

"Hey, did you find anything out?"

"_No, that Brown guy was scared as hell when we showed up. He only was able to mumble something about some kind of Agency."_

"Agency? Well I got a bit more than you," he chuckled. "About a month ago some tall Russian soldier had been at the hospital asking about Maia Birkin; Claire's new name. Anyways, when Ferry told him that she worked there he just left. He had grey hair and some sort of pin on the front of his trench. It had two bar-wings with a logo in the center, but Ferry couldn't remember the design."

"_Well you sure beat me, guess brawns don't always work."_

"It could be the agency Brown was so scared of. He'd have to be a top-of-the-line soldier to know of Claire. Is there any Russian's in any of your old files—"

A loud bang was heard as well as pain spreading like fire through his chest. He struggled to breathe as he looked down, seeing the front of his shirt, blood staining the front of him. A loud scream from a nearby woman flooded through the cell as his body hit the cement hard. His name kept being yelled. He could still hear it, over and over as his eyes closed.

This was the end of Ethan Osmino.

* * *

><p>Jill was horrified when she heard the news. Chris had just finished calling 911 about the incident and slapped the phone closed.<p>

"He was shot out in the open; this is some crazy people we're working with if they rid of a civilian." Leon sighed with grief in his eyes.

"His death wasn't wasted. He found out what could save Claire's life." Chris tried to remain optimistic of the horrible situation, even if he was blown away at the loss of a friend. "He was definitely a soldier," he continued and explained the traits to describe the man. "Ethan said he may very well be in one of the files pertaining to our old cases or corporations."

Billy's mind began working he went to the computer to check databases for someone matching his description including age range, rank, origins and parents' origins. It was then when it came down to three men. Two of them were deceased, which left them with one who matched the description, down to the pin.

"Sergei Vladimir," the screen read. He sure worked for an 'Agency'. The design in the middle of his pin was Umbrella's, but he is also listed under at least ten other sub-organizations. All of them flagged for dealing with Bio-Weapons.

"Okay, so we all know 'who' it is, but where is he now?"

"This is all I need," Leon said, taking out his phone. It was only around 5 minutes later that they heard a knock at the door.

"Wow, didn't think 'soon' meant minutes." Leon said as he let Ada into the room.

"Let's just say I was in the neighborhood."

Leon explained the situation to her while Chris stood back, unhappy with having to trust the words of a spy. But his sister is what mattered right now, and he could use all the help he could get. He looked out the window near him, guilt on his conscious since the beginning. _It was my fault. I should have been there for her. _He left her down.

"Are you listening Redfield?" Ada asked, annoyed, making Chris jump from his state. "I don't know where she is, but I know where he could be. This," she pointed to an area on the map with her well, polished finger, "Is the closest out of his personal laboratories, about 250 miles from New York."

"Smack dab in the middle of Shitland huh?"

"Correct. The lab is currently in use, so there will be resistance. You don't want to cause a stir, do you?"

"Of course not, we want to avoid as much conflict as possible." Chris assured her.

"So you, Leon and the 'big guy' should be ready to leave tomorrow morning and infiltrate after midnight when the scientists have return to the living quarter's level. I'm sure you can manage what they throw at you."

"And you're sure that this is the place he's at?" 'Big guy' Billy asked.

"It's not for certain, but it's your only shot at finding the girl. If anything, the place would get you the information needed to find her, right?"

"Yes," Chris looked up into her eyes, "Thank you, Ada." She smirked.

"Of course, but you owe me." She looked to Leon and winked. "Mind if I ah- get a glass of water, hmm?" she asked as Chris told her to help herself. She made her way into the kitchen and sat at the table, knowing that Jill Valentine sat in here in misery. She only smiled when they made eye contact, and Jill didn't even care that it was Ada when she began to speak.

"We lost her once and by some miracle we got her back. And then because of our…stupidity, we lost her once more and possibly forever."

Ada shook her head only slightly, "That Redfield girl is strong. She'll get through it."

_For Chris isn't the only one looking for her._

**…**

_Searching…_

Wesker stared at the screen, wondering why the only laptop he had didn't work faster than him. He needed to find the correct location as to where Sergei was hiding Claire. _A little tidbit of information Ada sent to him when she found out._

He stopped himself for a second. He didn't want to find _her_ per-say. He wanted his virus out of the wrong hands. If Sergei found out how o contain what was his, there would be a much greater problem.

He recalled, he had chipped her (and not just her phone) when she had the accident to prevent his virus from being stolen.

_Found_

The radar blipped in a general area around Scranton and there was only one laboratory in that area until it reached another state. He checked for his holstered gun before grabbing his jacket wand striding to his Jaguar. _Sergei, you are quite the fool to think you would escape me._

* * *

><p><strong>1:27 AM; Base entrance near Scranton<strong>

They had sat and waited on the breach of a hill as they watched the guards at the main entrance cut down their watchmen for the night. There were still many of them, but it seemed like the best time to not get caught.

"Alright, so not through the front, what about that one," Billy said pointing at the single metal door along the side of the building. If the guards turned while they bolted across the 50 yard distance to the door, they'd be in for a very rough night. They were fortunate as they timed each of their sprints when the guards began to converse. They jacked open the handle of the door, prying it open with force while another countered the weight. Inside was a small opening, leading into a hall which seemed to have signs pointing to every new corridor off of it.

"How the hell will we find her here? It's not like they'd label it."

"Let's look for floors that have restricted access."

"Alright, let's keep looking then." They wandered around a bit more, taking in the direction they were coming from as they ducked around and under the surprisingly few cameras. They had finally reached an unlabeled door and inside had stairs leading up and down.

"I'll go down, Kennedy stay on this floor, and Redfield head up. Anything happens, call." They nodded and went their separate ways.

Chris quietly took the stairs up, trying to not make any loud steps, making his way into the hall above him. In all honesty, Chris hated hurting or killing anyone. He hoped he didn't have to meet any civilian down here; he just wanted to get Claire out, and beg for her forgiveness.

"Shit," he hissed, seeing two scientists round out of a doorway, giving him just enough time to duck into the door closest to him.

"—saw that new girl." Chris heard through the door.

"Really? They wouldn't let me see her."

"It's a tragedy. They basically left her barely alive as they pretty much cut her open and took her children. Parker said something about her having a mixture of something."

"Poor thing, I can't believe—"

Chris' heart was beating like crazy. _She's here! I have to find her, fast!_

He exited the room once the two men left, making his way down to the other end of the hallway. Around the last corner, there was a door with two guards stationed out front. He crouched and peeked around the corner, firing off three shots to take them down; the silencer working wonders on his weapon. He quickly stood and ran to the door, pushing it open.

His eyes went directly to the steel table, the most horrific sight laid before him.

The skin was pale, blood from the mouth and around the abdomen. It seemed there was a large cut across it, and it was healing very slowly. Blood stained her skin and the plain medical undergarments she still wore. The pain in her face screamed as her once more defined face looked ghastly.

"My God," he whispered as he slowly stepped forward. He moved the pale-pigmented hair from her face, placing his palm on her cheek. "What the hell did they do to you?" He could see her chest rise and lower slowly. She was still breathing. He removed his jacket and laid it upon her, as if any more contact would break her. He looked again to her stomach, noticing how flat it really was. _It's empty._

"She's no longer carrying it, is she Christopher?" A deep voice sounded behind him. His head turned sharply, only to see Albert Wesker standing just inside the door.

"You! You…Don't you dare talk about her!"

"I'm not here to argue, I can deal with you later. Stay here while I—"

"Wesker is here?" Billy said as he came into the doorway.

"Damnit," Leon said as he appeared behind him, walking over to Claire. Wesker only sighed when everyone was now seemingly in his way.

"Keep watch, I have to go find something." Wesker stated and began to walk to the other side of the room. Chris watched only for a moment before beginning to follow.

"Chris, where are you going?"

"Just… take care of her for a bit." He replied, as he followed Wesker into a new hallway.

Chris was confused, even at himself as to why he was following him for he could have easily destroyed him at such a vulnerable time. But right now, he's probably the only chance he'd have at protecting his sister.

"You're awfully quiet Chris, quite the change from your normal self. Where the wonderful hate you always seethe whenever we meet?"

"Still there," he said, clenching his fists, "But right now all I want to do is fix my mistakes."

"Your sister is dying." Wesker stated as his head scanned a few doors they passed.

"What? No…I thought she was like you. How many times have you died, six?"

"She was injected with a dose of _something_ that's causing her cells to kill each other off. There's no way to reverse it."

"So what? You're just going to walk away without even trying?" he yelled, not keeping his temper in check anymore.

"I preferred it when you were quiet."

"Fuck you," Chris huffed, and was still unable to hold his tongue for any longer than a minute, "Do you know where her girls are?"

"_Girls_?"

"You didn't know?" Chris asked in disbelief. "She was having two girls. Twins. Claire named them Amelia and Leah."

Wesker was silent, and his head snapped to a door that seemed out of place, kicking it in. The guards inside were taken down with ease, letting them fall where they stood. Then they both looked at the metal case with plastic sides. Inside were two little bodies sleeping side by side. They were both wrapped in personal blankets upon a white padded mat. One had blonde tight curled hair and the other had short straight brown hair. Chris picked up the little blonde girl into his arms.

"I bet you are Leah," he then looked to Wesker, "Take Amelia and we'll get back to Claire."

Wesker looked down to the remaining child still in the so-called crib. Amelia…there was something wrong with her. Unsure of how to properly hold this…_thing,_ he copied Chris in the way he held the other. Quite unfortunate that Claire will not live, but why should he care? After he's taken care of this place, his mission would be accomplished; virus remains destroyed. He looked down as he felt the child move in his arms. The child seemed to not wake up like the other did.

**…**

"Twins? It really does run in your family," Billy smirked and spoke as the two returned with the children.

The doors in the room all electronically locked and a buzz came from a speaker in the ceiling.

"_Greetings. My, my, it seems we have such a wonderful gathering of teams here! What an honor, but I must disappoint you. You will all die here, and but no one other than the one you came to save!"_

The deep laughter filled the room, seemingly seeping into the men's bones.

"She's barely breathing Sergei. The one who will die here is you!" Chris yelled, looking at different sections of the ceiling.

"_Let's check then, shall we?"_ as if on command, Claire's eyes opened as her throat made a gasp for air.

"_Little Lady, do you see the men holding your dear children? They're trying to take them from you…_"

Claire sat up pushing the jacket off of her, her eyes blinking hard and staring at the men in front of her. Chris shivered at the sight of her eyes, pale and almost void of color.

"My…Children?" her voice was a little shaky.

"_They want to leave you here alone and kill them."_

"Alone?" her eyes shot to Wesker. "Alone?" She stood and walked a little, pointing at the blond man in front of her. "You…You promised me!" She then looked to the child in his arms. "Give her back!"

"You are being fooled—"

"NO! Never alone!" She raised her voice, not understanding what any of them were saying to her. Billy and Leon tried to grab her arms to pull her away, but she kicked them both into the nearby wall. Wesker felt the other child be pushed into his arms as Chris began his attempt to calm her down.

"Claire, we're here to take you home, you will never be alone again."

"I was alone because of _you!_ You and…Why did you come here? I am not your sister! No more!"

"Claire, stop!" Chris grabbed the outstretched hand of hers before she was able to hit him, but they broke out into a fight that Chris never tried to fight back at. She wanted to get to Wesker, to get her children, but there was no way he'd let her harm her own children by accident.

"This is a futile fight, Redfield."

It was then when Claire froze and it seemed that time stopped. Her fist stopped mid air as she began to clutch her stomach and cough up blood. Her knees hit the floor first as she fell.

Wesker handed the two children to Leon and walked over to Claire, who was now in Chris' arms. He withdrew a syringe, but Chris' hand grabbed his wrist.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"It will reduce the pain. As I told you before, the serum she was given will only make her worse until her eventual death. It's over, I can only help her go—"

"I…I can't lose her again. I can't..."

Wesker stood in his spot, not moving for he knew that Chris would change his mind. Claire began to scream at the intense pain. He noticed the Redfield's eyes fill with tears as he turned his head to the side.

"Do it," he said, and Wesker continued, giving her the shot in her arm. It was mere seconds when her body finally calmed down, a shiver going through her body.

"_Chris…"_ she choked.

"Shh…don't talk, it'll be over soon." He held his dear sister tighter.

"Girls…you have to—"

"I'll take care of them don't worry Claire I—"

"No!" She looked to Wesker who was kneeling at her right. "You can't…you get Leah Chris. Albert will take…Amelia." Chris' face went horrified, thinking to leave his sisters children with a _monster._

"I can't do that! Are you crazy—!"

"Amelia is infected!" She shouted with the breath she had. "Only he can take care of her!" her eyes went to Wesker again. "Please promise me…she will have a father." Her arm lifted reaching for him. "She was dying inside of me, but the virus saved her…like you saved me." Wesker's face stayed straight as he took her hand.

"Claire… I'm so sorry I should have…"

"Hey…I'm okay now, I had my second chance…and I think I fulfilled it well. I forgive you…Chris."

Chris' eyes still dropped tears down his face, but he didn't make a noise.

"Promise me Albert…" her voice only a whisper.

"I promise, _dear heart._" He replied, and her eyes closed.

"I am tired…will you both be here when…"

"Of course," Chris held back a choke, "Just rest."

Her body stopped moving, her arm becoming like stone in Wesker's hand and let go, watching Chris rock in place with her still in his arms. He stood and went back to Leon, taking the child with brown hair into his arms.

Leon ignored the enemy before him and walked to Chris, "We should get out of here," He touched his shoulder, getting him to stand with Claire in his arms.

They all began to walk out of the dreaded room afterwards as Wesker was easily able to knock out the door.

"Billy, blow up this fucking lab, and Sergei along with it." Chris muttered as he walked.

"What if he isn't here anymore?"

"He is," Wesker smirked, "I seem to have come more prepared than you, Redfield."

Chris frowned and nodded as they waited for the over-ride code to be input. They ran out with just enough time to spare.

**…**

They were back up on the bank of a hill, watching the facility implode from the inside, flames coming out from every entrance they could escape from.

"Amelia _is_ infected. As promised, I will take proper care of her," he looked at Chris' uneasiness, "No experiments for this one, I assure you. I will take leave."

"I don't even know why I'm debating whether or not to trust you on this."

"This is my daughter, after all. I am not so ruthless to destroy something that had been created from perfection." He turned, "But do not let _your_ guard down, you will be killed by my hands, someday soon."

"You wish. I'll take you down first." He shouted, but Wesker had already made it to his car, taking his leave.

"What now, Chris?" Billy asked carefully.

"It's time to go home," he said, and looked at his sister still in his arms. _Your home, Claire._

* * *

><p>Two weeks had passed, and they were finally able to put Claire's body in its place. It was the original grave that was meant for her, but this time for Chris, he knew she was really there. She's not in pain or alone anymore. Jill was depressed as well, but instantly fell in love with Leah. The girl had Claire's face, and pale blue eyes – like the fathers. She was a wonderful addition to their family, making it especially easier that their son, Matt, had someone to be with.<p>

Chris sometimes thought about the twin Amelia and about Claire's decision. He was so sure Wesker would refuse, just as he did before with her. But it was what she wanted, and perhaps there was a side of Wesker who was caring and—

Chris only snorted. Caring? Never in a million years.

"I'll get you someday, and you will pay," Chris spoke to himself, pushing the air out of the warm bottle of milk in his hands.

"Chris! Get your butt up here! Leah's hungry!"

"Comin'!"

**XxXx**

He stood above the crib, in the room he had created to be exactly like the one Claire had made in her apartment. He had hired Ada to do the preparing for all the trivial things, and warned her if she dared to think of any smart remarks. One fact remained true, Amelia was indeed infected.

Of course, this man was still – as everyone said – a 'cold bastard'. He is who he is. But something was added to him. He looked down at her, noticing how much she looked like her mother. Whenever she was with him or heard his voice, she would smile and laugh, reaching at him for contact. Her seemingly favorite toy was his sunglasses, especially when they were on his face.

He held her up, and she continued to laugh, beating his face with her tiny palms. Her eyes were always open, interested in everything. The red orbs constantly dancing.

"Calm down, Amelia," She only burst into more giggling fits, spitting down the front of her shirt. He laid her softly back down into the crib, leaning into her closely.

"Goodnight, my beauty." He said in a low tone before pulling a flannel blanket over her body. He hit the switch on a music player by the bed that played the same lullaby every night, and turned on a tiny lamp across the room before leaving, closing the door behind.

He made his way to the couch, and removed his glasses to clean them.

Family.

Such a weird concept for a person such as him, but he was in one now whether he liked it or not. He wouldn't stop doing his job, or killing, for that matter but his person…It was different in front of the infant. He wanted to fulfill his promise, to be a father. But why?

Love? Maybe he loved Claire. He didn't know, such infatuation was easily manipulated. But she sure loved and trusted _him._ He did feel something towards her. Was it anything more than desire? Maybe.

He was sure though he would come to 'love' Amelia someday. Soon she will be able to speak and say to him those three words. He will do his best to mean it when he replies; "I love you too."

"_Promise me Albert."_

She used his name, even after he had abandoned her.

Claire Redfield was a miraculous woman. No doubt if nothing had happened like it did, her strength could have matched his own.

He knew Amelia Wesker would be the same as her. Tough, intelligent and beautiful.

He just hoped she'd have a much better taste in men. _If he was to ever let her, that is._

Wesker smirked at his thoughts as he stood; disappearing through his lab's door, one again.

* * *

><p><strong>Awww man.<strong>

**So, this is the end of my first fanfic "Stolen Memories". I want to thank everyone who was with me, Necrosame, Lazymonkeyninja, J.C. Kennedy, NinMetro, XxMyxGuardianxAngelxxX, pinkalmonds, Kexy Kewl, every anonymous reviewer, alerts, favorites and such.**

**Thank You, Naoko Suki, for being with me all the time. You patience is incredible. You've made great work!**

**I feel a little sorry that I killed Claire and Ethan (I loved this guy) but they were meant to die for a long time. **

**I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, and the whole story ;) **

**Thank You, once again.**

**elevenzombiezz**


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